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THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 


V 


"When  sleepless  on  Eternal  hills — " 


THE 

EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

'By 

TALBOT  MUNDY 


Author  of 

Rung  Ho,  King — of  the  Khyber  Rifles 

Hira  Singh,  The  Ivory  Trad 

etc. 


ILLUSTRATED  BY 
DWIGHT   FRANKLIN 


Wl 


INDIANAPOLIS 

THE  BOBBS-MERRILL  COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 


Copyright  1920 
The  Ridgway  Company 


Copyright  1920 
The  Bobbs-Merrill  Company 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


PRESS  OF 

BRAUNWORTH   &  CO. 

BOOK    MANUFACTURERS  , 

BROOKLYN,   N.  V. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I     Parthians,   Medes   and   Elamites 1 

II     "How  did  sunshine  get  into  the  garden  ?    By  whose 

leave  came  the  wind?" 21 

III  "Sahib,  there  is  always  work  for  real  soldiers !"     .  40 

IV  "We  are  the  robbers,  effendi !" 52 

V    "Effendi,  that  is  the  heart  of  Armenia  burning !"     .  74 

VI    "Passing  the  buck  to  Allah !" 91 

VII    "We  hold  you  to  your  word!" US 

VIII     "I  go  with  that  man!" 128 

IX     "And  you  left  your  friend  to  help  me?"       .     .     .  142 

X     "When  I  fire  this  pistol — " 163 

XI     "That  man's  dose  is  death,  and  he  dies  unshriven !"  176 

XII     "America's  way  with  a  woman  is  beyond  belief !"  195 

XIII  "  'Take   j-our   squadron   and   go   find   him,   Rustum 

Khan  !'     And  I,  sahib,  obeyed  my  lord  bahadur's 

orders." 211 

XIV  "Rajput,    I    shall    hang    you    if    you    make    more 

trouble!" 229 

XV     "Scenery  to  burst  the  heart!" 243 

XVI     "What  care  I  for  my  belly,  sahib,  if  you  break  my 

heart."" 257 

XVII    "I  knew  what  to  expect  of  the  women !"     .     .     .  277 

XVIII     "Per  terram  ct  aquam" 290 

XIX     "Such  drilling  as  they  have  had — such  little  drill- 
ing!"       303 

XX     "So  few  against  so  many!    I  see  death,  and  I  am 

not  sorry  1" 316 

XXI     "Tliose   who   survive   this   night   shall    have  brave 

memories !" 333 

XXII     "God  go  with  you  to  the  States,  cfYendim !"     ,     .  349 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 


SALVETE! 

Oh  ye,  ivho  tread  the  trodden  path 

Aiid  keep  the  narrozv  lazv 

In  famished  faith  that  Judgment  Day 

Shall  blast  your  sluggard  mists  away 

And  sJiozv  zvhat  Moses  sazi/! 

Oh  thralls  of  subdivided  time. 

Hours  Measureless  I  sing 

That  oivn  szvift  zvays  to  wider  scenes. 

New-plucked  from  heights  zvhere  Vision  preens 

A  white,  unzvearied  wing! 

No  creed  I  preach  to  bend  dull  thought 

To  see  zvhat  I  shall  show. 

Nor  can  ye  buy  zvith  treasured  gold 

The  key  to  these  Hours  that  unfold 

New  tales  no  teachers  know. 

Ye' 11  need  no  leave  o'  the  lazvs  o'  man. 

For  Vision's  zvings  are  free; 

The  szvift  Unmeasured  Hours  are  kind 

And  ye  shall  leave  all  cares  behind 

If  ye  zvill  come  zvith  me! 

In  vain  shall  lumps  of  fashioned  stuff 

Imprison  you  about; 

In  vain  let  pundits  preach  the  flesh 

And  feebling  li)nits  that  enmesh 

Your  goings  in  and  out, 

I  knozv  the  zvay  the  zephyrs  took 

Who  brought  the  breath  of  spring, 

I  guide  to  shores  of  regions  blest 

Where  zvhite,  uncaught  Ideas  nest 

And  Thought  is  strong  o'  zving! 

Within  the  Hours  that  I  unlock 

All  customed  fetters  fall ; 

The  chains  of  drudgery  release; 

Set  limits  fade;  horizons  cease 


For  yoK.  who  hear  the  call — • 

No  trumpet  note — no  roll  of  drums. 

But  quiet,  sure  and  sweet — 

The  selfsame  voice  that  stimmoned  Drake, 

The  zvhisper  for  whose  siren  sake 

They  manned  the  Dez'on  fleet, 

More  lazi'less  than  the  gray  gull's  wail. 

More  boundless  than  the  sea. 

More  subtle  than  the  softest  wind! 

-K  T*  ••*  T* 

Oh,  ye  shall  burst  the  ties  that  bind 
If  ye  zvill  come  with  me! 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

CHAPTER  ONE 
Parthians,  Modes  and  Elamlfes 

IT  IS  written  with  authority  of  Tarsus  that  once  it  was 
no  mean  city,  but  that  is  a  tale  of  nineteen  centuries 
ago.  The  Turko-ItaHan  War  had  not  been  fought  when 
Fred  Oakes  took  the  fever  of  the  place,  although  the 
stage  was  pretty  nearly  set  for  it  and  most  of  the  lead- 
ing actors  were  wailing  for  their  cue.  No  more  history 
was  needed  than  to  grind  away  forgotten  loveliness. 

Fred's  is  the  least  sweet  temper  in  the  universe  when 
the  ague  grips  and  shakes  him,  and  he  knows  history 
as  some  men  know  the  Bible — by  fathoms ;  he  cursed  the 
place  conqueror  by  conqueror,  maligning  them  for  their 
city's  sake,  and  if  Sennacherib,  who  built  the  first  foun- 
dations, and  if  Anthony  and  Cleopatra,  Philip  of  Mace- 
don,  Timour-i-lang,  Mahmoud,  Ibrahim  and  all  the  rest 
of  them  could  have  come  and  listened  by  his  bedside 
they  would  have  heard  more  personal  scandal  of  them- 
selves than  ever  their  contemporary  chroniclers  dared 
reveal. 

All  this  because  he  insisted  on  ignoring  the  history  he 
knew  so  well,  and  couM  not  be  held  from  bathing  in  the 
River  Cydnus.  Whatever  their  indifference  to  custom, 
Anthony  and  Cleopatra  knew  better  than  do  that.    Alex- 

1 


2  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

andcr  the  Great,  on  the  other  hand,  flouted  tradition  and 
set  Fred  the  example,  very  nearly  dying  of  the  ague  for 
his  pains,  for  those  are  treacherous,  chill  waters. 

Fred,  being  a  sober  man  and  unlike  Alexander  o£ 
Macedon  in  several  other  ways,  throws  off  fever  mar- 
velously,  but  takes  it  as  some  persons  do  religion,  very 
severely  for  a  little  while.  So  we  carried  him  and  laid 
him  on  a  nice  white  cot  in  a  nice  clean  room  with  two 
beds  in  it  in  the  American  mission,  where  they  dispense 
more  than  royal  hospitality  to  utter  strangers.  Will 
Yerkes  had  friends  there  but  that  made  no  difference; 
Fred  was  quinined,  low-dieted,  bathed,  comforted  and 
reproved  for  swearing  by  a  college-educated  nurse,  who 
liked  his  principles  and  disapproved  of  his  professions 
just  as  frankly  as  if  he  came  from  her  home  town.  (Her 
name  was  Van-something-or-other,  and  you  could  lean 
against  the  Boston  accent — just  a  little  lonely-sounding, 
but  a  very  rock  of  gentle  independence,  all  that  long  way 
from  home!) 

Meanwhile,  we  rested.  That  is  to  say  that,  after  ac- 
cepting as  much  mission  hospitality  as  was  decent,  con- 
sidering that  every  member  of  the  staff  worked  fourteen 
hours  a  day  and  had  to  make  up  for  attention  shown  to 
lis  by  long  hours  bitten  out  of  night,  we  loafed  about  the 
city.    And  Satan  still  finds  mischief. 

We  called  on  Fred  in  the  beginning  twice  a  day,  morn- 
ing and  evening,  but  cut  the  visits  short  for  the  same  rea- 
son that  Monty  did  not  go  at  all :  when  the  fever  is  on 
him  Fred's  feelings  toward  his  own  sex  are  simply  blunt 
bellicose.  When  they  put  another  patient  in  the  spare 
bed  in  his  room  we  copied  Monty,  arguing  that  one  male 
at  a  time  for  him  to  quarrel  with  was  plenty. 

Monty,  being  Earl  of  IMontdidier  and  Kirkudbright- 


■^HE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  3 

shire,  and  a  privy  councilor,  was  welcome  at  the  consulate 
at  Mersina,  twenty  miles  away.  The  consul,  like  Monty, 
was  an  army  officer,  who  played  good  chess,  so  that  that 
was  no  place,  either,  for  Will  Yerkes  and  me.  Will  pre- 
fers dime  novels,  if  he  must  sit  still,  and  there  was  none. 
And  besides,  he  was  never  what  you  could  call  really 
sedative. 

He  and  I  took  up  quarters  at  the  European  hotel — no 
sweet  abiding-place.  There  were  beetles  in  the  Denmark 
butter  that  they  pushed  on  to  the  filthy  table-cloth  in  its 
original  one-pound  tin ;  and  there  was  a  Turkish  officer 
in  riding  pants  and  red  morocco  slippers,  back  from  the 
Yemen  with  two  or  three  incurable  complaints.  He 
talked  out-of-date  Turkish  politics  in  bad  French  and 
eked  out  his  ignorance  of  table  manners  with  instinctive 
racial  habit. 

To  avoid  him  between  meals  Will  and  I  set  out  to  look 
at  the  historic  sights,  and  exhausted  them  all,  real  and 
alleged,  in  less  than  half  a  day  (for  in  addition  to  a  lust 
for  ready-cut  building  stone  the  Turks  have  never  cher- 
ished monuments  that  might  accentuate  their  own  deca- 
dence). After  that  we  fossicked  in  the  manner  of  pros- 
pectors that  we  are  by  preference,  if  not  always  by  trade, 
eschewing  polite  society  and  hunting  in  the  impolite, 
amusing  places  where  most  of  the  facts  have  teeth,  sharp 
and  ready  to  snap,  but  visible. 

We  found  a  khan  at  last  on  the  outskirts  of  the  city, 
almost  in  sight  of  the  railway  line,  that  well  agreed  with 
our  frame  of  mind.  It  was  none  of  the  newfangled,  un- 
derdone affairs  tliat  ape  hotels,  with  Greek  managers  and 
as  many  different  ])rices  for  one  service  as  there  are 
grades  of  credulity,  but  a  genuine  two-hundred-year-old 
Turkish  ])lacc,  run  by  a  'J'urk,  and  named  Yeni  Khan 


4  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

(which  means  the  new  rest  house)  in  proof  tha^  once  the; 
world  was  younger.  The  man  who  directed  us  to  the 
place  called  it  a  kahveh;  but  that  means  a  place  for  don- 
keys and  foot-passengers,  and  when  we  spoke  of  it  as 
kahveh  to  the  ohadashi — the  elderly  youth  who  corre- 
sponds to  porter,  bell-boy  and  chambermaid  in  one — he 
was  visibly  annoyed. 

Truly  the  place  was  a  khan — a  great  bleak  building  of 
four  high  outer  walls,  surrounding  a  courtyard  that  was 
a  yard  deep  with  the  dung  of  countless  camels,  horses, 
bullocks,  asses;  crowded  with  arabas,  the  four-wheeled 
vehicles  of  all  the  Near  East,  and  smelly  with  centuries 
of  human  journeys'  ends. 

Khans  provide  nothing  except  room,  heat  and  water 
(and  the  heat  costs  extra)  ;  there  is  no  sanitation  for  any 
one  at  any  price ;  every  guest  dumps  all  his  discarded 
rubbish  over  the  balcony  rail  into  the  courtyard,  to  be 
trodden  and  wheeled  under  foot  and  help  build  the 
aroma.  But  the  guests  provide  a  picture  without  price 
that  with  the  very  first  glimpse  drives  discomfort  out  of 
mind. 

In  that  place  there  were  Parthians,  Medes  and  Elam- 
ites,  and  all  the  rest  of  the  list.  There  was  even  a  China- 
man. Two  Hindus  were  unpacking  bundles  out  of  a 
creaking  araha,  watched  scornfully  by  an  unmistakable 
Pathan.  A  fat  swarthy-faced  Greek  in  black  frock  coat 
and  trousers,  fez,  and  slippered  feet  gesticulated  with  his 
right  arm  like  a  pump-handle  while  he  sat  on  the  balcony- 
rail  and  bellowed  orders  to  a  crowd  mixed  of  Armenians, 
Italians,  Maltese,  Syrians  and  a  Turk  or  two,  who  la- 
bored with  his  bales  of  cotton  goods  below.  (The  Ital- 
ians eyed  everybody  sidewise,  for  there  were  rumors  in 
those  days  of  impending  trouble,  and  when  the  Turk 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  5 

begins  hostilities  he  hkes  his  first  opponents  easy  and 
ready  to  hand.) 

There  were  Kurds,  long-nosed,  lean-lipped  and  suspi- 
cious, who  said  very  little,  but  hugged  long  knives  as  they 
passed  back  and  forth  among  the  swarming  strangers. 
They  said  nothing  at  all,  those  Kurds,  but  listened  a  very 
great  deal. 

Tall,  mustached  Circassians,  with  eighteen-inch  Er- 
2enim  daggers  at  their  waists,  swaggered  about  as  if  they, 
and  only  they,  were  history's  heirs.  It  was  expedient  to 
get  out  of  their  path  alertly,  but  they  cringed  into  second 
place  before  the  Turks,  who,  without  any  swagger  at  all, 
lorded  it  over  every  one.  For  the  Turk  is  a  conqueror, 
whatever  else  he  ought  to  be.  The  poorest  Turkish  ser- 
vant is  race-conscious,  and  unshakably  convinced  of  his 
own  superiority  to  the  princes  of  the  conquered.  One 
has  to  bear  that  fact  in  mind  when  dealing  with  the  Turk  ; 
it  colors  all  his  views  of  life,  and  accounts  for  some  of 
his  famous  unexpectedness. 

Will  and  I  fell  in  love  with  the  crowd,  and  engaged  a 
room  over  the  great  arched  entrance.  We  were  aware 
from  the  first  of  the  dull  red  marks  on  the  walls  of  the 
room,  where  bed-bugs  had  been  slain  with  slipper  heels 
by  angry  owners  of  the  blood  ;  but  we  were  not  in  search 
of  luxury,  and  we  had  our  belongings  and  a  can  of  in- 
sect-bane brought  down  from  the  hotel  at  once.  The  fact 
that  stallions  squealed  and  fought  in  the  stalls  across  the 
courtyard  scarcely  promised  us  uninterrupted  sleep ;  but 
sleep  is  not  to  be  weighed  in  the  balance  against  the  news 
of  eastern  nights. 

We  went  down  to  the  common  room  close  beside  the 
main  entrance,  and  pushed  the  door  open  a  little  way ; 
the  men  who  sat  within  with  their  backs  against  it  would 


6  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

only  yield  enough  to  pass  one  person  in  gingerly  at  a 
time.  We  saw  a  sea  of  heads  and  hats  and  faces.  It 
looked  impossible  to  squeeze  another  human  being  in 
among  those  already  seated  on  the  floor,  nor  to  make 
another  voice  heard  amid  all  that  babel. 

But  the  babel  ceased,  and  they  did  make  room  for  us — 
places  of  honor  against  the  far  wall,  because  of  our  clean 
clothes  and  nationality.  We  sat  wedged  between  a  Geor- 
gian in  smelly,  greasy  woolen  jacket,  and  a  man  who 
looked  Persian  but  talked  for  the  most  part  French. 
There  were  other  Persians  beyond  him,  for  I  caught  the 
word  poid — money,  the  perennial  song  and  shibboleth  of 
that  folk. 

The  day  was  fine  enough,  but  consensus  of  opinion 
had  it  that  snow  was  likely  falling  in  the  Taurus  Moun- 
tains, and  rain  would  fall  the  next  day  between  the  moun- 
tains and  the  sea,  making  roads  and  fords  impassable 
and  the  mountain  passes  risky.  So  men  from  the  ends  of 
earth  sat  still  contentedly,  to  pass  earth's  gossip  to  and 
fro — an  astonishing  lot  of  it.  There  was  none  of  it  quite 
true,  and  some  of  it  not  nearly  true,  but  all  of  it  was 
based  on  fact  of  some  sort. 

Men  who  know  the  khans  well  are  agreed  that  with 
experience  one  learns  to  guess  the  truth  from  listening  to 
the  ever-changing  lies.  We  could  not  hope  to  pick  out 
truth,  but  sat  as  if  in  the  pit  of  an  old-time  theater,  watch- 
ing a  foreign-language  play  and  understanding  some,  but 
missing  most  of  it. 

There  was  a  man  who  drew  my  attention  at  once,  who 
looked  and  was  dressed  rather  like  a  Russian — a  man 
with  a  high-bridged,  prominent,  lean  nose — not  nearly  so 
bulky  as  his  sheepskin  coat  suggested,  but  active  and 
strong,  with  a  fiery  restless  eye.     He  talked  Russian  at 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  7 

intervals  with  the  men  who  sat  near  him  at  the  end  of  the 
room  on  our  right,  but  used  at  least  six  other  languages 
with  any  one  who  cared  to  agree  or  disagree  with  him. 
His  rather  agreeable  voice  had  the  trick  of  carrying 
words  distinctly  across  the  din  of  countless  others. 

"What  do  you  suppose  is  that  man's  nationality?"  I 
asked  Will,  shouting  to  him  because  of  the  roar,  although 
he  sat  next  me. 

"Ermenie  !"  said  a  Turk  next  but  one  beyond  Will,  and 
spat  venomously,  as  if  the  very  name  Armenian  befouled 
his  mouth. 

But  I  was  not  convinced  that  the  man  with  the  aqui- 
line nose  was  Armenian.  He  looked  guilty  of  alLogether 
too  much  zest  for  life,  and  laughed  too  boldly  in  Turkish 
presence.  In  those  days  most  Armenians  thereabouts 
were  sad.    I  called  Will's  attention  to  him  again. 

"What  do  you  make  of  him  ?" 

"He  belongs  to  that  quieter  party  in  the  opposite  cor- 
ner." (Will  puts  two  and  two  together  all  the  time,  be- 
cause the  heroes  of  dime  novels  act  that  way.)  "They're 
gipsies,  yet  I'd  say  he's  not — " 

"He  and  the  others  are  jiiujaan,"  said  a  voice  beside 
me  in  English,  and  I  looked  into  the  Persian's  gentle 
brown  eyes.  "The  jingaan  are  street  robbers  pure  and 
simple,"  he  added  by  way  of  explanation. 

"But  what  nationality?" 

"Jingaan  might  be  anything.  They  in  particular  would 
call  themselves  Rommany.  We  call  them  Zingarri.  Not 
a  dependable  people — unless — " 

I  waited  in  vain  for  the  qualification.  He  shrugged 
his  shoulders,  as  if  there  was  no  sense  in  praising  evil 
qualities. 

But  I  was  not  satisfied  yet.    Thty  were  swarthier  and 


8  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

stockier  than  the  man  who  had  interested  me,  and  had 
indefinite,  soft  eyes.  The  man  I  watched  had  brown 
eyes,  but  they  were  hard.  And,  unHke  them,  he  had  long 
lean  fingers  and  his  gestures  were  all  extravagant.  He 
was  not  a  Jew,  I  was  sure  of  that,  nor  a  Syrian,  nor  yet 
a  Kurd. 

"Ermenie — Ermenie !"  said  the  Turk,  watching  me 
curiously,  and  spitting  again.  "That  one  is  Ermenie. 
Those  others  are  just  dogs !" 

The  crowd  began  to  thin  after  a  while,  as  men  filed 
out  to  feed  cattle  and  to  cook  their  own  evening  meal. 
Then  the  perplexing  person  got  up  and  came  over  toward 
me,  showing  no  fear  of  the  Turk  at  all.  He  was  tall  and 
lean  when  he  stood  upright,  but  enormously  strong  if 
one  could  guess  correctly  through  the  bulky-looking  outer 
garment. 

He  stood  in  front  of  Will  and  me,  his  strong  yellow 
teeth  gleaming  between  a  black  beard  and  mustache.  The 
Turk  got  up  clumsily,  and  went  out,  muttering  to  him- 
self. I  glanced  toward  the  corner  where  the  self-evident 
gipsies  sat,  and  observed  that  with  perfect  unanimity  they 
were  all  feigning  sleep. 

"Eenglis  sportmen !"  said  the  man  in  front  of  us,  rais- 
ing both  hands,  palms  outward,  in  appraisal  of  our  clothes 
and  general  appearance. 

It  was  not  surprising  that  he  should  talk  English,  for 
what  the  British  themselves  have  not  accomplished  in 
that  land  of  a  hundred  tongues  has  been  done  by  Amer- 
ican missionaries,  teaching  in  the  course  of  a  generation 
thousands  on  thousands.  (There  is  none  like  the  Amer- 
ican missionary  for  attaining  ends  at  wholesale.) 

"What  countryman  are  you  ?"  I  asked  him. 

"Zeitoonli,"  he  answered,  as  if  the  word  were  honor 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  9 

itself  and  explanation  bound  in  one.  Yet  he  looked 
hardly  like  an  honorable  man.  ''The  chilabi  are  staying 
here?"  he  asked.     Chilabi  means  gentleman. 

"We  wait  on  the  weather,"  said  I,  not  caring  to  have 
him  turn  the  tables  on  me  and  become  interrogator. 

He  laughed  with  a  sort  of  hard  good  humor. 

"Since  when  have  Eenglis  sportmen  waited  on  the 
weather  ?  Ah,  but  you  are  right,  effendi,  none  should  tell 
the  truth  in  this  place,  unless  in  hope  of  being  disbe- 
lieved !"  He  laid  a  finger  on  his  right  eye,  as  I  have  seen 
Arabs  do  when  they  mean  to  ascribe  to  themselves  un- 
fathomable cunning.  "Since  you  entered  this  common 
room  you  have  not  ceased  to  observe  me  closely.  The 
other  sportman  has  watched  those  Zingarri.  What  have 
you  learned?" 

He  stood  with  lean  hands  crossed  now  in  front  of  him, 
looking  at  us  down  his  nose,  not  ceasing  to  smile,  but  a 
hint  less  at  his  ease,  a  shade  less  genial. 

"I  have  heard  you — and  them — described  as  jingaan" 
I  answered,  and  he  stiffened  instantly. 

Whether  or  not  they  took  that  for  a  signal — or  per- 
haps he  made  another  that  we  did  not  see — the  six  un- 
doubted gipsies  got  up  and  left  the  room,  shambling  out 
in  single  file  with  the  awkward  gait  they  share  in  common 
with  red  Indians. 

"Jinrjaan,"  he  said,  "arc  ])cop1e  who  lurk  in  shadows 
of  the  streets  to  rob  belated  travelers.  That  is  not  my 
business."  He  looked  very  hard  indeed  at  the  Persian, 
who  decidcfl  that  it  mit^ht  ai  v/cll  be  supper-time  and  rose 
stiffly  to  his  feet.  The  Persians  rob  and  murder,  and 
even  retreat,  gracefully.  He  bade  us  a  stately  and  be- 
nignant good  evening,  with  a  poetic  Persian  blessing  at 
the  end  of  it.    He  bowed,  too,  to  the  Zciloonli,  who  bared 


10  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

his  teeth  and  bent  his  head  forward  something  less  than 
an  inch. 

"They  call  me  the  Eye  of  Zeitoon !"  he  announced 
with  a  sort  of  savage  pride,  as  soon  as  the  Persian  was 
out  of  ear-shot. 

Will  pricked  his  ears — schoolboy-looking  ears  that 
stand  out  from  his  head. 

"I've  heard  of  Zeitoon.  It's  a  village  on  a  mountain, 
where  a  man  steps  out  of  his  front  door  on  to  a  neigh- 
bor's roof,  and  the  women  wear  no  veils,  and — " 

The  man  showed  his  teeth  in  another  yellow  smile. 

"The  cffendi  is  blessed  with  intelligence !  Few  know  of 
Zeitoon." 

Will  and  I  exchanged  glances. 

"Ours,"  said  Will,  "is  the  best  room  in  the  khan,  over 
the  entrance  gate." 

"Two  such  chilahi  should  surely  live  like  princes,"  he 
answered  without  a  smile.  If  he  had  dared  say  that  and 
smile  we  would  have  struck  him,  and  Monty  might  have 
been  alive  to-day.  But  he  seemed  to  know  his  place,  al- 
though he  looked  at  us  down  his  nose  again  in  shrewd 
appraisal. 

Will  took  out  tobacco  and  rolled  what  in  the  innocence 
of  his  Yankee  heart  he  believed  was  a  cigarette.  I  pro- 
duced and  lit  what  he  contemptuously  called  a  "boughten 
cigaroot" — Turkish  Regie,  with  the  scent  of  aboriginal 
ambrosia.    The  Zeitoonli  took  the  hint. 

"Yarim  sa'  at,"  he  said.     "Korkakma!" 

"Meanin'  ?"  demanded  Will. 

"In  half  an  hour.     Do  not  be  afraid!"  said  he. 

"Before  I  grow  afraid  of  you,"  Will  retorted,  "you'll 
need  your  friends  along,  and  they'll  need  knives !" 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  11 

The  Zeitoonli  bowed,  laid  a  finger  on  his  eye  again, 
smiled  and  baclved  away.  But  he  did  not  leave  the  room. 
He  went  back  to  the  end-wall  against  which  he  had  sat 
before,  and  although  he  did  not  stare  at  us  the  intention 
not  to  let  us  out  of  sight  seemed  pretty  obvious. 

"That  half-hour  stuff  smacked  rather  of  a  threat,"  said 
Will.  "Suppose  we  call  the  bluff',  and  keep  him  v/aiting. 
What  do  you  say  if  we  go  and  dine  at  the  hotel?" 

But  in  the  raw  enthusiasm  of  entering  new  quarters 
we  had  made  up  our  minds  that  afternoon  to  try  out  our 
new  camp  kitchen — a  contraption  of  wood  and  iron  we 
had  built  with  the  aid  of  the  mission  carpenter.  And  the 
walk  to  the  hotel  would  have  been  a  long  one,  through 
Tarsus  mud  in  the  dark,  with  prowling  dogs  to  take  ac- 
count of. 

"I'm  not  afraid  of  ten  of  him !"  said  I.  "I  know  how 
to  cook  curried  eggs ;  come  on  !" 

"Who  said  who  was  afraid?" 

So  we  went  out  into  darkness  already  jeweled  by  a  hun- 
dred lanterns,  dodged  under  the  necks  of  three  hungry 
Eactrian  camels  (they  are  irritable  when  they  want  their 
meal),  were  narrowly  missed  by  a  mule's  heels  because 
of  the  deceptive  shadows  that  confused  his  aim,  tripped 
over  a  donkey's  heel-rope,  and  found  our  stairway — 
thoroughly  well  cursed  in  seven  languages,  and  only  just 
missed  by  a  Georgian  gentleman  on  the  balcony,  who 
chose  the  moment  of  our  passing  underneath  to  empty 
out  hissing  liquid  from  his  cooking  pot. 

Once  in  our  four-square  room,  with  the  rugs  on  the 
floor  in  our  especial  honor,  and  our  beds  set  up,  and  the 
folding  chairs  in  place,  contentment  took  hold  of  us ;  and 
as  we  lighted  the  primus  burner  in  the  cooking  box,  we 


12  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

pitied  from  the  bottom  of  compassionate  young  hearts  all 
unfortunates  in  stiff  white  shirts,  whose  dinners  were 
served  that  night  on  silver  and  laundered  linen. 

Through  the  partly  open  door  we  could  smell  every- 
thing that  ever  happened  since  the  beginning  of  the 
world,  and  hear  most  of  the  elemental  music — made,  for 
instance,  of  the  squeal  of  fighting  stallions,  and  the  bray 
of  an  amorous  he-ass — the  bubbling  complaint  of  fed 
camels  that  want  to  go  to  sleep,  but  are  afraid  of  dream- 
ing— the  hum  of  human  voices — the  clash  of  cooking  pots 
— the  voice  of  a  man  on  the  roof  singing  falsetto  to  the 
stars  (that  was  surely  the  Pathan!) — the  tinkling  of  a 
three-stringed  instrument — and  all  of  that  punctuated  by 
the  tapping  of  a  sas,  the  little  tight-skinned  Turkish 
drum. 

It  is  no  use  for  folk  whose  finger-nails  were  never 
dirty,  and  who  never  scratched  themselves  while  they 
cooked  a  meal  over  the  primus  burner  on  the  floor,  to 
say  that  all  that  medley  of  sounds  and  smells  is  not  good. 
It  is  very  good  indeed,  only  he  who  is  privileged  must 
understand,  or  else  the  spell  is  mere  confusion. 

The  cooking  box  was  hardly  a  success,  because  bright 
eyes  watching  through  the  open  door  m.ade  us  nervously 
amateurish.  The  Zeitoonli  arrived  true  to  his  threat  on 
the  stroke  of  the  half -hour,  and  we  could  not  shut  the 
door  in  his  face  because  of  the  fumes  of  food  and  kero- 
sene. (Two  of  the  eggs,  like  us,  were  travelers  and  had 
been  in  more  than  one  bazaar.) 

But  we  did  not  invite  him  inside  until  our  meal  was 
finished,  and  then  we  graciously  permitted  him  to  go  for 
water  wherewith  to  wash  up.  He  strode  back  and  forth 
on  the  balcony,  treading  ruthlessly  on  prayer-mats  (for 
the  Moslem  prays  in  public  like  the  Pharisees  of  old). 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  13 

"Myself  I  am  Christian,"  he  said,  spitting  over  the 
rail,  and  sitting  down  again  to  watch  us.  We  accepted 
the  remark  with  reservations. 

When  we  asked  him  in  at  last,  and  we  had  driven  out 
the  flies  with  flapping  towels,  he  closed  the  door  and 
squatted  down  with  his  back  to  it,  we  two  facing  him  in 
our  canvas-backed  easy  chairs.  He  refused  the  "genuine 
Turkish"  coffee  that  Will  stev/ed  over  the  primus.  Will 
drank  the  beastly  stuff,  of  course,  to  keep  himself  in 
countenance,  and  I  did  not  care  to  go  back  on  a  friend 
before  a  foreigner,  but  I  envied  the  man  from  Zeitoon 
his  liberty  of  choice. 

"Why  do  they  call  you  the  Eye  of  Zeitoon?"  I  asked, 
when  time  enough  had  elapsed  to  preclude  his  imagining 
that  we  regarded  him  seriously.  One  has  to  be  careful 
about  beginnings  in  the  Near  East,  even  as  elsewhere. 

"I  keep  watch !"  he  answered  proudly,  but  also  with  a 
deeply-grounded  consciousness  of  cunning.  There  were 
moments  when  I  felt  such  strong  repugnance  for  the  man 
that  I  itched  to  open  the  door  and  thrust  him  through — 
other  moments  when  compassion  for  him  urged  me  to 
offer  money — food — influence — anything.  The  second 
emotion  fought  all  the  while  against  the  first,  and  I  found 
out  afterward  it  had  been  the  same  with  Will. 

"Why  should  Zeitoon  need  such  special  watching?"  I 
demanded.  "How  do  you  watch?  Against  whom? 
Why  ?" 

He  laughed  with  a  pair  of  lawless  eyes,  and  showed  his 
yellow  teeth. 

"Ha !  Shall  I  speak  of  Zeitoon  ?  This,  then  :  the  Turks 
never  conquered  it !  They  came  once  and  built  a  fort  on 
the  opposite  mountain-side,  with  guns  to  overawe  us  all. 
Wc  took  their  fort  by  storm!    We  threw  their  cannon 


;I4  "  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

down  a  thousand  feet  into  the  bed  of  the  torrent,  and 
there  they  He  to-day !  We  took  prisoner  as  many  of  their 
Arab  saptiehs  as  still  were  living  —  aye,  they  even 
brought  Arabs  against  us  —  poor  fools  who  had  not  yet 
heard  of  Zeitoon's  defenders!  Then  we  came  down  to 
the  plains  for  a  little  vengeance,  leaving  the  Arabs  for 
our  wives  to  guard.  They  are  women  of  spirit,  the  Zei- 
toonli  wives ! 

'"Word  reached  Zeitoon  presently  that  we  were  being 
hard  pressed  on  the  plains.  It  was  told  to  the  Zeitoonli 
wives  that  they  might  arrange  to  have  pursuit  called  off 
from  us  by  surrendering  those  Arab  prisoners.  They 
answered  that  Zeitoon-f ashion.  How  ?  I  will  tell.  There 
is  a  bridge  of  wood,  flung  over  across  the  mountain  tor- 
rent, five  hundred  feet  above  the  water,  spanning  from 
crag  to  crag.  Those  Zeitoonli  wives  of  ours  bound  the 
Arab  prisoners  hand  and  foot.  They  brought  them  out 
along  the  bridge.  They  threw  them  over  one  at  a  time, 
each  man  looking  on  until  his  turn  came.  -That  was  the 
answer  of  the  brave  Zeitoonli  wives!" 

"And  you  on  the  plains?" 

"Ah !  It  takes  better  than  Osmanli  to  conquer  the  men 
of  Zeitoon  I"  He  gave  the  Turks  their  own  names  for 
themselves  with  the  air  of  a  brave  fighting  man  conceding 
his  opponent  points.  "We  heard  what  our  wives  had  done. 
We  were  encouraged.  We  prevailed !  We  fell  back  to- 
ward our  mountain  and  prevailed !  There  in  Zeitoon  we 
have  weapons — numbers — advantage  of  position,  for  no 
roads  come  near  Zeitoon  that  an  araha,  or  a  gun,  or  any- 
thing on  wheels  can  use.  The  only  thing  we  fear  is 
treachery,  leading  to  surprise  in  overwhelming  force. 
And  against  these  I  keep  watch !" 

"Why  should  you  tell  us  all  this?"  demanded  Will. 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON"  15 

"How  do  you  know  we  are  not  agents  of  the  Turkish 
government  ?" 

He  laughed  outright,  throwing  out  both  hands  toward 
us.    "Eenglis  sportmen !"  he  said  simply. 

"\\'hat's  that  got  to  do  with  it  ?"  Will  retorted.  He  has 
the  unaccountable  American  dislike  of  being  mistaken 
for  an  Englishman,  but  long  ago  gave  up  arguing  the 
point,  since  foreigners  refuse,  as  a  rule,  to  see  the  sacred 
difference. 

"I  am,  too,  sportman.  At  Zeitoon  there  is  very  good 
sport.  Bear.  Antelope.  Wild  boar.  One  sportman  to 
another — do  you  miderstand?" 

We  did,  and  did  not  believe. 

"How  far  to  Zeitoon  ?"  I  demanded. 

"I  go  in  five  days  when  I  hurry.  You — not  hurrying — 
by  horse — seven — eight — nine  days,  depending  on  the 
roads." 

"Are  they  all  Armenians  in  Zeitoon  ?" 

"Most.  Not  all.  There  are  Arabs — Syrians — Persians 
— a  few  Circassians — even  Kurds  and  a  Turk  or  two. 
Our  numbers  have  been  reen  forced  continually  by  de- 
serters from  the  Turkish  Army.  Ninety-five  per  cent., 
however,  are  Armenians,"  he  added  with  half-closed 
eyes,  suddenly  suggesting  that  masked  meekness  that  dis- 
guises most  outrageous  racial  pride. 

"It  is  common  report,"  I  said,  "that  the  Turks  settled 
all  Armenian  problems  long  ago  by  process  of  massacre 
until  you  have  no  spirit  for  revolt  left." 

"The  report  lies,  that  is  all !"  he  answered.  Then  sud- 
denly he  beat  on  his  chest  with  clenched  fist.  "There  is 
spirit  here !  There  is  spirit  in  Zeitoon  !  No  Osmanli  dare 
molest  my  people !  Come  to  Zeitoon  to  shoot  bear,  boar, 
antelope  !  I  will  show  you  !   1  will  prove  my  words !" 


.16  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

"Were  those  six  jingaan  in  the  common  room  your 
men  ?"  I  asked  him,  and  he  laughed  as  suddenly  as  he  had 
stormed,  like  a  teacher  at  a  child's  mistake. 

"Jingaan  is  a  bad  word,"  he  said.  "I  might  kill  a  man 
who  named  me  that — depending  on  the  man.  My  brother 
I  would  kill  for  it — a  stranger  perhaps  not.  Those  men 
are  Zingarri,  who  detest  to  sleep  between  brick  walls. 
They  have  a  tent  pitched  in  the  yard." 

"Are  they  your  men?" 

"Zingarri  are  no  man's  men." 

The  denial  carried  no  conviction. 

"Is  there  nothing  but  hunting  at  Zeitoon?'*  Will  de- 
manded. 

"Is  that  not  much?  In  addition  the  place  itself  is  won- 
derful— a  mountain  in  a  mist,  with  houses  clinging  to  the 
flanks  of  it,  and  scenery  to  burst  the  heart !" 

"What  else?"  I  asked.  "No  ancient  buildings?" 

He  changed  his  tactics  instantly. 

"Effendi,"  he  said,  leaning  forward  and  pointing  a 
forefinger  at  me  by  way  of  emphasis,  "there  are  castles 
on  the  mountains  near  Zeitoon  that  have  never  been  ex- 
plored since  the  Turks — may  God  destroy  them ! — over- 
ran the  land !  Castles  hidden  among  trees  where  only 
bears  dwell !  Castles  built  by  the  Seljuks — Armenians — 
Romans — Saracens — Crusaders !  I  know  the  way  to 
every  one  of  them  !" 

"What  else  ?"  demanded  Will,  purposely  incredulous. 

"Beyond  Zeitoon  to  north  and  west  are  cave-dwell- 
ers. Mountains  so  hollowed  out  that  only  a  shell  remains, 
a  sponge — a  honeycomb !  No  man  knows  how  far  those 
tunnels  run !  The  Turks  have  attempted  now  and  then 
to  smoke  out  the  inhabitants.    They  were  laughed  at! 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  17 

One  mountain  is  connected  with  another,  and  the  tunnels 
run  for  miles  and  miles !" 

"I've  seen  cave-dwellings  in  the  States,"  Will  an- 
swered, unimpressed.  "But  just  where  do  you  come  in  ?" 

"I  do  not  understand." 

"What  do  you  propose  to  get  out  of  it  ?" 

"Nothing !  I  am  proud  of  my  country.  I  am  sportman. 
I  am  pleased  to  show." 

We  both  jeered  at  him,  for  that  explanation  was  too 
outrageously  ridiculous.  Armenians  love  money,  what- 
ever else  they  do  or  leave  undone,  and  can  wring  a  hand- 
some profit  out  of  business  whose  very  existence  the 
easier-going  Turk  would  not  suspect. 

"See  if  I  can't  read  your  mind,"  said  Will.  "You'll 
guide  us  for  some  distance  out  of  town,  at  a  place  you 
know,  and  your  jingaan-gipsy  brethren  will  hold  us  up  at 
some  point  and  rob  us  to  a  fare-you-well.  Is  that  the 
pretty  scheme?" 

Some  men  would  have  flown  into  a  fury.  Some  would 
have  laughed  the  matter  off.  Any  and  every  crook  would 
have  been  at  pains  to  hide  his  real  feelings.  Yet  this 
strange  individual  was  at  a  loss  how  to  answer,  and  not 
averse  to  our  knowing  that. 

For  a  moment  a  sort  of  low  cunning  seemed  to  creep 
over  his  mind,  but  he  dismissed  it.  Three  times  he  raised 
his  hanrjs,  palms  upward,  and  checked  himself  in  the 
middle  of  a  word. 

"You  could  pay  me  for  my  services,"  he  said  at  last, 
not  as  if  that  were  the  real  reason,  nor  as  if  he  hoped  to 
convince  us  that  it  was,  but  as  if  he  were  offering  an  ex- 
cuse that  we  might  care  to  accept  for  the  sake  of  making 
peace  with  our  own  compunctions. 


18  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

"There  are  four  in  our  party,"  said  Will,  apropos  ap- 
parently of  nothing. 

The  effect  was  unexpected. 

"Four?"  His  eyes  opened  wide,  and  he  made  the 
knuckle-bones  of  both  hands  crack  like  caps  going  off. 
"Four  Eenglis  sportman  ?" 

"I  said  four.  If  you're  willing  to  tell  the  naked  truth 
about  what's  back  of  your  offer,  I'll  undertake  to  talk  it 
over  with  my  other  friends.  Then,  either  we'll  all  four 
agree  to  take  you  up,  or  we'll  give  you  a  flat  refusal 
within  a  day  or  two.   Now — suit  yourself." 

"I  have  told  the  truth — Zeitoon — caves — boar — ante- 
lope— wild  boar.  I  am  a  very  good  guide.  You  shall  pay 
me  handsomely." 

"Sure,  we'll  ante  up  like  foreigners.  But  why  do  you 
make  the  proposal?  What's  behind  it?" 

"I  never  saw  you  until  this  afternoon.  You  are  Eenglis 
sportmen.  I  can  show  good  sport.  You  shall  pay  me. 
Could  it  be  simpler  ?" 

It  seemed  to  me  we  had  been  within  an  ace  of  discov- 
ery, but  the  man's  mind  had  closed  again  against  us  in 
obedience  to  some  racial  or  religious  instinct  outside  our 
comprehension.  He  had  been  on  the  verge  of  taking  us 
into  confidence. 

"Let  the  sportmen  think  it  over,"  he  said,  getting  up. 
"Jamiani!  (My  soul!)  Effeiidi,  when  I  was  a  younger 
man  none  could  have  made  me  half  such  a  sportmanlike 
proposal  without  an  answer  on  the  instant !  A  man  fit  to 
strike  the  highway  with  his  foot  should  be  a  judge  of 
men!  I  have  judged  you  fit  to  be  invited!  Now  you 
judge  me — the  Eye  of  Zeitoon  I" 

"What  is  your  real  name?" 


,THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  19 

"I  have  none — or  many,  which  is  the  same  thing !  I  did 
not  ask  your  names ;  they  are  your  own  affair !" 

He  stood  with  his  hand  on  the  door,  not  irresolute,  buli 
taking  one  last  look  at  us  and  our  belongings, 

"I  wish  you  comfortable  sleep,  and  long  lives,  ef- 
fendirn!"  he  said  then,  and  swung  himself  out,  closing  the 
door  behind  him  with  an  air  of  having  honored  us,  not 
we  him  particularly.  And  after  he  had  gone  we  were  not 
at  all  sure  that  summary  of  the  situation  was  not  right. 

\^'e  lay  awake  on  our  cots  until  long  after  midnight, 
hazarding  guesses  about  him.  Whatever  else  he  had  done 
he  had  thoroughly  aroused  our  curiosity. 

"If  you  w^ant  my  opinion  that's  all  he  was  after  any- 
way!" said  Will,  dropping  his  last  cigarette-end  on  the 
floor  and  flattening  it  with  his  slipper.  "Cut  the  cackle, 
and  let's  sleep !" 

We  fell  asleep  at  last  amid  the  noise  of  wild  carousing; 
for  the  proprietor  of  the  Yeni  Khan,  although  a  Turk, 
and  therefore  himself  presumably  abstemious,  was  not 
above  dispensing  at  a  price  mastika  that  the  Greeks  get 
drunk  on,  and  the  viler  raki,  with  which  Georgians,  Cir- 
cassians, Albanians,  and  even  the  less  religious  Turks 
woo  imagination  or  forgetfulness. 

There  was  knife-fighting  as  well  as  carousal  before 
dawn,  to  judge  by  the  cat-and-dog-fight  swearing  in  and 
out  among  tiic  camel  pickets  and  the  wheels  of  arabas. 
But  that  was  the  business  of  the  men  who  fought,  and  no 
one  interfered. 


A  TIME  AND  TIMES  AND  HALF  A  TIME 

When  Cydmis  bore  the  Taurus  snozvs 

To  szvectcn  Cleopatra's  keels, 

And  rippled  in  the  breeze  that  sings 

From  Kara  Dagh,  zvhere  leafy  wings 

Of  flozvcrs  fall  and  gloaming  steals 

The  colors  of  the  blozving  rose, 

Old  zvere  the  zvharves  and  zvoods  and  zt'ays — 

Older  the  tale  of  steel  and  fire. 

Involved  intrigue,  envenomed  plan, 

Man  marketing  his  brother  man 

By  dread  duress  to  glut  desire. 

No  peace  zvas  in  those  olden  days. 

Hope  like  the  gorgeous  rose  sun-zvarmed 

Blossomed  and  blezv  azvay  and  died. 

Till  gentleness  had  ceased  to  be 

And  Tarsus  knezv  no  chivalry 

Could  live  an  hour  by  Cydnus'  side 

Where  all  the  heirs  of  ez'il  sivarmed. 

And  yet — zuith  every  szvelling  spring 

Each  pollen-scented  zephyr's  breath 

Repeats  the  patient  nezns  to  ears 

Made  dull  by  dreams  of  loveless  years, 

"It  is  of  life,  and  not  of  death 

That  ye  shall  hear  the  Cydnus  sing!" 


CHAPTER  TWO 

"How  did  sunshine  get  into  the  garden?  By  whose  leave 
came  the  witid?" 

WE  awoke  amid  sounds  unexplainable.  IMost  of  the 
Moslems  had  finished  their  noisy  ritual  ablutions, 
and  at  dawn  we  had  been  dimly  conscious  of  the  strings 
of  camels,  mules  and  donkeys  jingling  out  under  the  arch 
beneath  us.  Yet  there  was  a  great  din  from  the  court- 
yard of  wild  hoofs  thumping  on  the  dung,  and  of  scurry- 
ing feet  as  if  a  mile-long  caravan  were  practising  forma- 
tions. 

So  we  went  out  to  yawn,  and  remained,  oblivious  of 
everything  but  the  cause  of  all  the  noise,  we  leaning  with 
elbows  on  the  wooden  rail,  and  she  laughing  up  at  us  at 
intervals. 

The  six  Zingarri,  or  gipsies,  had  pitched  their  tent  in 
the  very  middle  of  the  yard,  ambitious  above  all  other 
considerations  to  keep  away  from  walls.  It  was  a  big, 
low,  black  affair  supported  on  short  poles,  and  subdivided 
by  them  into  several  comijartmcnts.  One  could  see  un- 
shapely bulges  where  women  did  the  housekeeping 
within. 

But  the  woman  who  held  us  spell-bound  cared  nothing 
for  Turkish  custom — a  girl  not  more  than  seventeen 
years  old  at  the  boldest  guess.  She  was  breaking  a  gray 
stallion  in  the  yard,  sitting  the  frenzied  beast  without  a 
saddle  and  doing  whatever  she  liked  with  him,  except 

21 


22  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

that  his  heels  made  free  of  the  air,  and  he  went  from 
point  to  point  whichever  end  up  best  pleased  his  fancy. 

Travelers  make  an  early  start  in  Asia  Minor,  but  the 
yard  was  by  no  means  empty  yet ;  some  folk  were  still 
waiting  on  the  doubtful  weather.  Her  own  people  kept 
to  the  tent.  Whoever  else  had  business  in  the  yard  made 
common  cause  and  cursed  the  girl  for  making  the  disturb- 
ance, frightening  camels,  horses,  asses  and  themselves. 
And  she  ignored  them  all,  unless  it  was  on  purpose  that 
she  brought  her  stallion's  heels  too  close  for  safety  to 
the  most  abusive. 

It  was  only  for  us  two  that  she  had  any  kind  of 
friendly  interest ;  she  kept  looking  up  at  us  and  laughing 
as  she  caught  our  eyes,  bringing  her  mount  uprearing 
just  beneath  us  several  times.  She  was  pretty  as  the 
peep  o'  morning,  with  long,  black  wavy  hair  all  loose 
about  her  shoulders,  and  as  light  on  the  horse  as  the 
foam  he  tossed  about,  although  master  of  him  without  a 
second's  doubt  of  it. 

When  she  had  had  enough  of  riding — long  before  we 
were  tired  of  the  spectacle — she  shouted  with  a  voice  like 
a  mellow  bell.  One  of  the  gipsies  ran  out  and  led  away 
the  sweating  stallion,  and  she  disappeared  into  the  tent, 
throwing  us  a  laugh  over  her  shoulder. 

"D'you  suppose  those  gipsies  are  really  of  that  Ar- 
menian's party?"  Will  wondered  aloud.  "Now,  if  she 
■were  going  to  Zeitoon — !" 

Feeling  as  he  did,  I  mocked  at  him  to  hide  my  feelings, 
and  we  hung  about  for  another  hour  in  hope  of  seeing  her 
again,  but  she  kept  close.  I  don't  dou1)t  she  watched  us 
through  a  hole  in  the  tent.  We  would  have  sat  there 
alert  in  our  chairs  until  evening  only  Fred  sent  a  note 
down  to  say  he  was  well  enough  to  leave  the  hospital. 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  23 

We  found  him  with  his  beard  trimmed  neatly  and  his 
fevered  eyes  all  bright  again,  sitting  talking  to  the  nurse 
on  the  veranda  about  a  niece  of  hers — Gloria  Vander- 
man. 

"Chicken  in  this  desert!"  Will  wondered  irreverently, 
and  Fred,  who  likes  his  English  to  have  dictionary  mean- 
ings, rose  from  his  chair  in  wrath.  The  nurse  made  that 
the  cue  for  getting  rid  of  us. 

"Take  ]\Ir.  Oakes  away!"  she  urged,  laughing.  "He 
threatened  to  kill  a  man  this  morning.  There's  too  much 
murder  in  Tarsus  now.   If  he  should  add  to  it — " 

"You  know  it  wasn't  on  my  account,"  Fred  objected. 
"It  was  what  he  wrote — and  said  of  you.  Why,  he  has 
had  you  prayed  for  publicly  by  name,  and  you  washing 
the  brute's  feet !  Let  me  back  in  there  for  just  five  min- 
utes, and  I'll  show  what  a  hospital  case  should  really 
look  like !" 

"Take  him  away !"  she  laughed.  "Isn't  it  bad  enough  to 
be  prayed  for?  Must  I  get  into  the  papers,  too,  as  heroine 
of  a  scandal?" 

The  head  missionary  was  not  there  to  say  good-by  to, 
life  in  his  case  being  too  serious  an  affair  to  waste  min- 
utes of  a  precious  morning  on  farewells,  so  v/e  packed 
Fred  into  the  waiting  carriage  and  drove  all  the  way  to 
Mersina,  where  we  interrupted  Monty's  mid-afternoon 
game  of  chess, 

Fred  Oakes  and  Monty  were  the  closest  friends  I  ever 
met — one  problem  for  an  enemy — one  stout,  two-headed, 
most  dependable  ally  for  the  lucky  man  or  woman  they 
called  friend. 

"Oh,  hullo!"  said  ]\Ionty  over  his  shoulder,  as  our 
names  were  called  out  by  the  stately  consular  knvass. 

"Hullo!"  said  Fred,  and  shook  hands  with  the  consul. 


24  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

"Thought  you  were  ckie  to  be  sick  for  another  week?" 
said  Monty,  closing  up  the  board. 

'T  was,  I  would  have  been.  Bed  would  have  done  me 
good,  and  the  nurse  is  a  darling,  old  enough  to  be  Will's 
mother.  But  they  put  a  biped  by  the  name  of  Peter 
Measel  in  the  bed  next  mine.  He's  a  missionary  on  his 
own  account,  and  keeps  a  diary.  Seems  he  contributes 
to  the  funds  of  a  Welsh  mission  in  France,  and  they  do 
what  he  says.  He  has  all  the  people  he  disapproves  of 
prayed  for  publicly  by  name  in  the  mission  hall  in  Mar- 
seilles, with  extracts  out  of  his  diary  by  way  of  explana- 
tion, so  that  the  people  who  pray  may  know  what  they've 
got  on  their  hands.  The  special  information  I  gave  him 
about  you,  Monty,  will  make  Marseilles  hum!  He's  got 
you  down  as  a  drunken  pirate,  my  boy,  with  no  less  than 
eleven  wives.  But  he  asked  me  one  night  whether  I 
thought  what  he'd  written  about  the  nurse  was  strong 
enough,  and  he  read  it  aloud  to  me.  You'd  never  believe 
what  the  reptile  had  dared  suggest  in  his  devil's  log- 
book !  I'm  expelled  for  threatening  to  kill  him !" 

"The  nurse  was  right,"  said  the  consul  gloomily. 
"There'll  be  murder  enough  hereabouts — and  soon  !'* 

He  was  a  fairly  young  man  yet  in  spite  of  the  nearly 
white  hair  over  the  temples.  He  measured  his  words  in 
the  manner  of  a  man  whose  speech  is  taken  at  face  value. 

"The  missionaries  know.  The  governments  won't  lis- 
ten. I've  been  appealed  to.  So  has  the  United  States 
consul,  and  neither  of  us  is  going  to  be  able  to  do  much. 
Remember,  I  represent  a  government  at  peace  with  Tur- 
key, and  so  does  he.  The  Turk  has  a  side  to  his  character 
that  governments  ignore.  Have  you  watched  them  at 
prayer?" 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  25 

We  told  him  how  close  we  had  been  on  the  previous 
night,  and  he  laughed. 

"Did  you  suppose  I  couldn't  smell  camel  and  khan  the 
moment  you  came  in  ?" 

"That  was  why  Sister  Vanderman  hurried  you  off  so 
promptly !"  Fred  announced  with  an  air  of  outraged 
truthfulness.    "Faugh !  Slangy  talk  and  stink  of  stables  !" 

"I  was  talking  of  Turks,"  said  the  consul.  "When 
they  pray,  you  may  have  noticed  that  they  glance  to  right 
and  left.  When  they  think  there  is  nobody  looking  they 
do  more,  they  stare  deliberately  to  the  right  and  left. 
'I'hat  is  the  act  of  recognition  of  the  angel  and  the  devil 
who  are  supposed  to  attend  every  Moslem,  the  angel  to 
record  his  good  deeds  and  the  devil  his  bad  ones.  To  my 
mind  there  lies  the  secret  of  the  Turk's  character.  Most 
of  the  time  he's  a  man  of  his  word — honest — courteous — 
considerate — good-humored — even  chivalrous — living  up 
to  the  angel.  But  once  in  so  often  he  remembers  the 
other  shoulder,  and  then  there  isn't  any  limit  to  the  dev- 
iltry he'll  do.    Absolutely  not  a  limit  I" 

"I  suppose  we  or  the  Americans  could  land  marines  at 
a  pinch,  and  protect  whoever  asked  for  protection  ?"  sug- 
gested Monty. 

"No,"  said  the  consul  deliberately.  "Germany  would 
object.  Germany  is  the  only  power  that  would.  Germany 
would  accuse  us  of  scheming  to  destroy  the  value  of  their 
blessed  Baghdad  railway." 

A  privy  councilor  of  England,  which  Monty  was,  is 
not  necessarily  in  touch  with  politics  of  any  sort.  Neither 
were  we ;  but  it  happened  that  more  than  once  in  our 
wanderings  about  the  world  things  had  been  forced  on 
our  attention. 


26  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

"They  would  rather  sec  Europe  burn  from  end  to 
end !"  Monty  agreed. 

"And  I  think  there's  more  than  that  in  it,"  said  the 
consul.  "Armenians  are  not  their  favorites.  The  Ger- 
mans want  the  trade  of  the  Levant.  The  Armenians  are 
business  men.  They're  shrewder  than  Jews  and  more 
dependable  than  Greeks.  It  would  suit  Germany  very 
nicely,  I  imagine,  to  have  no  Armenians  to  compete  with." 

"But  if  Germany  once  got  control  of  the  Near  East," 
I  objected,  "she  could  impose  her  own  restrictions." 

The  consul  frowned.  "Armenians  who  thrive  in  spite 
of  Turks—" 

"Would  skin  a  German  for  hide  and  tallow,"  nodded 
Will. 

"Exactly.  Germany  would  object  vigorously  if  we  or 
the  States  should  land  marines  to  prevent  the  Turks 
from  applying  the  favorite  remedy,  vnkuart — that  means 
events,  you  know — their  euphemism  for  massacre  at 
rather  frequent  intervals.  Germany  would  rather  see  the 
Turks  finish  the  dirty  work  thoroughly  than  have  it  to 
do  herself  later  on." 

"You  mean,"  said  I,  "that  the  German  government  is 
inciting  to  massacre?" 

"Hardly.  There  are  German  missionaries  in  the  coun- 
try, doing  good  work  in  a  funny,  fussy,  rigorous  fashion 
of  their  own.  They'd  raise  a  dickens  of  a  hocus-pocus 
back  in  Germany  if  they  once  suspected  their  govern- 
ment of  playing  that  game.  No.  But  Germany  intends 
to  stand  off  the  other  powers,  while  Turks  tackle  the 
Armenians ;  and  the  Turks  know  that." 

"But  what's  the  immediate  excuse  for  massacre?"  de- 
manded Fred. 

The  consul  laughed. 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  27 

"All  that's  needed  is  a  spark.  The  Armenians  haven't 
been  tactful.  They  don't  hesitate  to  irritate  the  Turks — 
not  that  you  can  blame  them,  but  it  isn't  wise.  Most  of 
the  money-lenders  are  Armenians;  Turks  won't  engage 
in  that  business  themselves  on  religious  grounds,  but 
they're  ready  borrowers,  and  the  Armenian  money- 
lenders, who  are  in  a  very  small  minority,  of  course,  are 
grasping  and  give  a  bad  name  to  the  whole  nation.  Then, 
Armenians  have  been  boasting  openly  that  one  of  these 
days  the  old  Armenian  kingdom  will  be  re-established. 
The  Turks  are  conquerors,  you  know,  and  don't  like  that 
kind  of  talk.  If  the  Armenians  could  only  keep  from 
quarreling  among  themselves  they  could  win  their  inde- 
pendence in  half  a  jiffy,  but  the  Turks  are  deadly  wise  at 
the  old  trick  of  divide  et  impera;  they  keep  the  Arme- 
nians quarreling,  and  nobody  dares  stand  in  with  them 
because  sooner  or  later — sooner,  probably — they'll  split 
among  themselves,  and  leave  their  friends  high  and  dry. 
You  can't  blame  'em.  The  Turks  know  enough  to  play  on 
their  religious  prejudices  and  set  one  sect  against  another. 
When  the  massacres  begin  scarcely  an  Armenian  will 
know  who  is  friend  and  who  enemy." 

"D'you  mean  to  say,"  demanded  Fred,  "that  they're 
going  to  be  shot  like  bottles  ofi"  a  wall  wiihout  rhyme  or 
reason  ?" 

"That's  how  it  was  before,"  said  the  consul.  "There's 
nothing  to  stop  it.  The  world  is  mistaken  about  Arme- 
nians. They're  a  hot-blooded  lot  on  the  whole,  with  a 
deep  sense  of  national  ])ride,  and  a  hatred  of  Turkish 
oi)pression  that  rankles.  One  of  these  mornings  a  Turk 
will  choose  his  Armenian  and  carefully  insult  the  man's 
wife  or  daughter.  Perha[)S  he  will  crown  it  by  throw- 
ing dirt  in  the  fellow's  face.   The  Armenian  will  kill  him 


28  THE  F.YE  OF  ZEITOON 

— or  try  to,  and  there  you  are.  Moslem  blood  shed  by  a 
dog  of  a  giaour — the  old  excuse!" 

"Don't  the  Armenians  know  what's  in  store  for  them  ?" 
I  asked. 

"Some  of  them  know.  Some  guess.  Some  are  like  the 
villagers  on  Mount  Vesuvius — much  as  we  English  were 
in  '57  in  India,  I  imagine — asleep — playing  games — get- 
ting rich  on  top  of  a  volcano.  The  difiference  is  that  the 
Armenians  will  have  no  chance." 

"Did  you  ever  hear  tell  of  the  Eye  of  Zcitoon  ?"  asked 
Will,  apropos  apparently  of  nothing. 

"No,"  said  the  consul,  staring  at  him. 

Will  told  him  of  the  individual  we  had  talked  with  in 
the  khan  the  night  before,  describing  him  rather  care- 
fully, not  forgetting  the  gipsies  in  the  black  tent,  and 
particularly  not  the  daughter  of  the  dawn  who  schooled 
a  gray  stallion  in  the  courtyard. 

The  consul  shook  his  head. 

"Never  saw  or  heard  of  any  of  them." 

We  were  sitting  in  full  view  of  the  roadstead  where 
Anthony  and  Cleopatra's  ships  had  moored  a  hundred 
times.  The  consul's  garden  sloped  in  front  of  us,  and 
most  of  the  flowers  that  Europe  reckons  rare  were  get- 
ting ready  to  bloom. 

"Would  you  know  the  man  if  you  saw  him  again, 
W^ill  ?"  I  asked. 

"Sure  I  would !" 

"Then  look !" 

I  pointed,  and  seeing  himself  observed  a  man  stepped 
out  of  the  shadow  of  some  oleanders.  There  was  some- 
thing suggestive  in  his  choice  of  lurking  place,  for  every 
part  of  the  oleander  plant  is  dangerously  poisonous ;  it 
was  as  if  he  had  hidden  himself  among  the  hairs  of  death. 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  "29 

"Him,  sure  enough !"  said  Will. 

The  man  came  forward  uninvited. 

"How  did  you  get  into  the  grounds?"  the  consul  de- 
manded, and  the  man  laughed,  laying  an  unafraid  hand 
on  the  veranda  rail. 

"My  teskcre  is  a  better  than  the  Turks  give !"  he  an- 
swered in  Enghsh,  (A  teskere  is  the  official  permit  to 
travel  into  the  interior.) 

"What  do  you  mean  ?" 

"How  did  sunshine  come  into  the  garden?  By  whose 
leave  came  the  wind  ?" 

He  stood  on  no  formality.  Before  one  of  us  could  in- 
terfere (for  he  might  have  been  plying  the  assassin's 
trade)  he  had  vaulted  the  veranda  rail  and  stood  in  front 
of  us.  As  he  jumped  I  heard  the  rattle  of  loose  car- 
tridges, and  the  thump  of  a  hidden  pistol  against  the 
woodwork.  I  could  see  the  hilt  of  a  dagger,  too,  just 
emerging  from  concealment  through  the  opening  in  his 
smock.  But  he  stood  in  front  of  us  almost  meekly,  wait- 
ing to  be  spoken  to. 

"You  arc  without  shame  1"  said  the  consul. 

"Truly!   Of  what  should  I  be  ashamed!" 

"What  brought  you  here  ?" 

"Two  feet  and  a  great  good  will !   You  know  me." 

The  consul  shook  his  head. 

"Who  sold  tlic  horse  to  the  German  from  Billis?" 

"Are  you  that  man  ?" 

"Who  clipped  the  wings  of  a  kite,  and  sold  it  for  ten 
pounds  to  a  fool  for  an  eagle  from  Ararat  ?" 

The  consul  laughed. 

"Are  you  the  rascal  who  did  that?" 

"Who  threw  Olim  Pasha  into  the  river,  and  pushed 
him  in  and  in  again  for  more  than  an  hour  with  a  fishing 


"30  'THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

pole — and  then  threw  in  the  gendarmes  who  ran  to  arrest 
him — and  only  ran  when  the  Eenglis  consul  came?" 

"I  remember,"  said  the  consul. 

"I  told  you  you  knew  me," 

"Yet  you  don't  look  quite  like  that  man." 

"Neither  does  to-day's  wind  blow  like  yesterday's!" 

"What  is  your  name?" 

"Then  it  was  AH." 

"What  is  it  now  ?" 

"The  name  God  gave  me  ?" 

"Yes." 

"God  knows!" 

"What  do  you  want  here  ?" 

He  spread  out  his  arms  toward  us  four,  and  grinned. 

"Look — see !  Four  Eenglis  sportman  !  Could  a  man 
want  more  ?" 

"Your  face  is  hauntingly  familiar,"  said  the  consul, 
searching  old  memories. 

"No  doubt.  Who  carried  your  honor's  letter  to  Adri- 
anople  in  time  of  war,  and  received  a  bullet,  but  brought 
the  answer  back?" 

"W'hat — are  you  that  man — Kagig?" 

Instead  of  replying  the  man  opened  his  smock,  and 
pulled  aside  an  undershirt  until  his  hairy  left  breast  lay 
bare  down  to  where  the  nipple  should  have  been.  Why 
a  bullet  that  drilled  that  nipple  so  neatly  had  not  pierced 
the  heart  was  simply  mystery. 

"Kagig,  by  jove  !  Kagig  with  a  beard !  Nobody  would 
know  you  but  for  that  scar." 

"But  now  you  know  me  surely?  Tell  these  Eenglis 
sportman,  then,  that  I  am  good  man — good  guide !  Tell 
them  they  come  widi  me  to  Zeitoon  I" 

The  consul's  face  darkened  swiftly,  clouded  by  some 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  31 

notion  that  he  seemed  to  try  to  dismiss,  but  that  refused 
to  leave  him. 

"How  much  vvould  you  ask  for  your  services?"  he 
demanded. 

"Whatever  the  effcndim  please." 

"Have  you  a  horse  ?" 

He  nodded. 

"You  and  your  horse,  then,  two  piasters  a  day,  and  you 
feed  yourself  and  the  beast." 

The  man  agreed,  very  bright-eyed.  Often  it  takes  a 
day  or  two  to  come  to  terms  with  natives  of  that  country, 
yet  the  terms  the  consul  offered  him  were  those  for  a 
man  of  very  ordinary  attainments. 

"Come  back  in  an  hour,"  said  the  consul. 

Without  a  word  of  answer  Kagig  vaulted  back  across 
the  rail  and  disappeared  around  the  corner  of  the  house, 
walking  without  hurry  but  not  looking  back. 

"Kagig,  by  jove !  It  would  take  too  long  now  to  tell 
that  story  of  tlie  letter  to  Adrianople.  I've  no  proof,  but 
a  private  notion  that  Kagig  is  descended  from  the  old 
Armenian  kings.  In  a  certain  sort  of  tight  place  there's 
not  a  better  man  in  Asia.  Now,  Lord  Montdidicr,  if 
you're  in  earnest  about  searching  for  that  castle  of  your 
Crusader  ancestors,  you're  in  luck !" 

"You  know  it's  what  I  came  here  for,"  said  IMonty. 
"These  friends  of  mine  are  curious,  and  I'm  determined. 
Now  that  Fred's  well—" 

"I'm  puzzled,"  said  the  consul,  leaning  back  and  look- 
ing at  us  all  with  half-closed  eyes.  "Why  should  Kagig 
choose  just  this  time  to  guide  a  hunting  party?  If  any 
man  knows  trouble's  brewing,  I  suspect  he  surely  does. 
Anything  can  happen  in  tiie  interior.  I  recall,  for  in- 
stance, a  couple  of  Danes,  who  went  with  a  guide  not 


32  JIIE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

long  ago,  land  simply  disappeared.  There  are  outlaws 
everywhere,  and  it's  more  than  a  theory  that  the  pubhc 
officials  are  in  league  with  them." 

"What  a  joke  if  we  find  the  old  family  castle  is  a  nest 
of  robbers,"  smiled  Monty. 

"Still !"  corrected  Fred. 

I  was  watching  the  consul's  eyes.  He  was  troubled, 
but  the  prospect  of  massacre  did  not  account  for  all  of 
his  expression.  There  was  debate,  inspiration  against 
conviction,  being  fought  out  under  cover  of  forced  calm. 
Inspiration  won  the  day. 

"I  was  wondering,"  he  said,  and  lit  a  fresh  cigar  while 
we  waited  for  him  to  go  on. 

"I  vouch  for  my  friends,"  said  Monty. 

"It  wasn't  that.  I've  no  right  to  make  the  proposal- 
no  official  right  whatever — I'm  speaking  strictly  unof- 
ficially— in  fact,  it's  not  a  proposal  at  all — merely  a  no- 
tion." 

He  paused  to  give  himself  a  last  chance,  but  indiscre- 
tion was  too  strong, 

"I  was  wondering  how  far  you  four  men  would  go  to 
save  twenty  or  thirty  thousand  lives." 

"You've  no  call  to  wonder  about  that,"  said  Will. 

"Suppose  you  tell  us  what  you've  got  in  mind,"  sug- 
gested Monty,  putting  his  long  legs  on  a  chair  and  pro- 
ducing a  cigarette. 

The  consul  knocked  out  his  pipe  and  sat  forward,  be- 
ginning to  talk  a  little  faster,  as  a  man  v/ho  throws  dis- 
cretion to  the  winds. 

"I've  no  legal  right  to  interfere.  None  at  all.  In  case 
of  a  massacre  of  Armenians — men,  women,  little  children 
— I  could  do  nothing.  IMake  a  fuss,  of  course.  Throw 
oi^en  the  consulate  to  refugees.   Threaten  a  lot  of  things 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  33 

that  I  know  perfectly  well  my  government  won't  do.  The 
Turks  will  be  polite  to  my  face  and  laugh  behind  my 
back,  knowing  I'm  helpless.  But  if  you  four  men — " 

"Yes— go  on — v/hat  ?" 

"Spill  it !"  urged  Will. 

" — should  be  up-country,  and  I  knew  it  for  a  fact,  but 
did  not  know  your  precise  whereabouts,  I'd  have  a  grown 
excuse  for  raising  most  particular  old  Harry !  You  get 
my  meaning?" 

"Sure!"  said  Will.  "Alonty's  an  earl.  Fred's  related 
to  half  the  peerages  in  Burke.  'Me  and  him" — I  was  bal- 
ancing my  chair  on  one  leg  and  he  pushed  me  over  back- 
ward by  way  of  identification — "just  pose  as  distinguished 
members  of  society  for  the  occasion.    I  get  you." 

"It  might  even  be  possible,  ]\Ir.  Yerkes,  to  get  the 
United  States  Congress  to  take  action  on  your  account." 

"Don't  you  believe  it!"  laughed  Will.  "The  members 
for  the  Parish  Pump,  and  the  senators  from  Ireland 
would  howl  about  the  IMonroe  Doctrine  and  Washing- 
ton's advice  at  the  merest  hint  of  a  Yankee  in  trouble  in 
foreign  parts." 

"What  about  the  United  States  papers?" 

"They'd  think  it  was  an  English  scheme  to  entangle  the 
United  States,  and  they'd  be  afraid  to  support  action  for 
fear  of  the  Irish.   No,  England's  your  only  chance  !" 

"Well,"  said  the  consul,  "I've  told  you  the  whole  idea. 
If  I  should  liap])cn  to  know  of  four  inii)ortant  individuals 
somewhere  up-country,  and  massacres  .should  break  out 
after  you  had  started,  I  could  supply  our  ambassador 
with  something  good  to  work  on.  The  Turkish  govern- 
ment might  have  to  stoj)  the  massacre  in  the  district  in 
which  you  should  ha])pcn  to  be.   That  would  save  lives." 

"But  could  they  stop  it,  once  started  ?"  I  asked. 


34  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

"They  could  try.  That  'ud  be  more  than  they  ever  did 
yet." 

"You  mean,"  said  Monty,  "that  you'd  like  us  to  engage 
Kagig  and  make  the  trip,  and  to  remain  out  in  case  of — 
ah — vuknart  until  we're  rescued?" 

"Can't  say  I  like  it,  but  that's  what  I  mean.  And  as 
for  rescue,  the  longer  the  process  takes  the  better,   I 


miagme 


"Hide,  and  have  them  hunt  for  us,  eh?" 

"Would  it  help,"  I  suggested,  "if  we  were  to  be  taken 
prisoner  by  outlaws  and  held  for  ransom?" 

"It  might,"  said  the  consul  darkly.  "I'd  take  to  the 
hills  myself  and  send  back  a  wail  for  help,  only  my  plain 
duty  is  here  at  the  mission.  What  I  have  suggested  to 
)'0U  is  mad  quixotism  at  the  best,  and  at  the  worst — well, 
do  you  recall  what  happened  to  poor  Vyner,  who  was 
held  for  ransom  by  Greek  brigands  ?  They  sent  a  rescue 
party  instead  of  money,  and — " 

"Charles  Vyner  was  a  friend  of  mine,"  said  Monty 
quietly. 

Fred  began  to  look  extremely  cheerful  and  Will  nudged 
me  and  nodded. 

"Remember,"  said  the  consul,  "in  the  present  state  of 
European  politics  there's  no  knowing  what  can  or  can't 
be  done,  but  if  you  four  men  are  absent  in  the  hills  I 
believe  I  can  give  the  Turkish  government  so  much  to 
think  about  that  there'll  be  no  massacres  in  that  one  dis- 
trict." 

"Whistle  up  Kagig!"  Monty  answered,  and  that  was 
the  end  of  the  argument  as  far  as  yea  or  nay  had  any- 
thing to  do  with  it.  Prospect  of  danger  was  the  last  thing 
likely  to  divide  the  party. 

"How  about  permits  to  travel?"  asked  Will.    "The 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  35 

United  States  consul  told  me  none  is  to  be  had  at  pres- 
ent." 

The  consul  rubbed  his  thumb  and  forefinger  together. 

"It  may  cost  a  little  more,  that's  all,"  he  said.    "You 

might  go  without,  but  you'd  better  submit  to  extortion." 

He  called  the  kavass,  the  uniformed  consular  attend- 
ant, and  sent  him  in  search  of  Kagig.  Within  two  min- 
utes the  Eye  of  Zeitoon  was  grinning  at  us  through  a 
small  square  window  in  the  wall  at  one  end  of  the  ve- 
randa. Then  he  came  round  and  once  more  vaulted  the 
veranda  rail,  for  he  seemed  to  hold  ordinary  means  of 
entry  in  contempt.  His  eye  looked  very  possessive  for 
that  of  one  seeking  employment  as  a  guide,  but  he  stood 
at  respectful  attention  until  spoken  to. 

"These  gentlemen  have  decided  to  employ  you,"  the 
consul  announced. 

"Mashallahl"  (God  be  praised!)  For  a  Christian  he 
used  unusual  expletives. 

"They  want  to  find  a  castle  in  the  mountains,  to  hunt 
bear  and  boar,  and  to  see  Zeitoon." 

"I  shall  lead  them  to  ten  castles  never  seen  before  by 
Eenglismen !  They  shall  kill  all  the  bears  and  pigs ! 
Never  was  such  sport  as  they  shall  see !" 

He  exploded  the  word  pigs  as  if  he  had  the  Osmanli 
prejudice  against  that  animal.  Yet  he  wore  a  pig-skin 
cartridge  belt  about  his  middle. 

"They  will  need  enormous  lots  of  ammunition !"  he 
announced. 

"What  else  would  the  roadside  robbers  like  them  to 
bring?" 

"No  Turkish  servants!  They  throw  Turks  over  a 
bridge-side  in  Zeitoon!  I  myself  will  provide  servants, 
who  shall  bring  them  back  safely!" 


36  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

It  seemed  to  me  that  he  breathed  inward  as  he  said 
that.  A  Turk  would  have  added  "Inshallah!" — if  God 
wills ! 

"Make  ready  for  a  journey  of  two  months,"  he  said. 
"When  and  where  shall  the  start  be?" 

It  would  obviously  be  unwise  to  start  from  the  con- 
sulate. 

"From  the  Yeni  Khan  in  Tarsus,"  said  Will. 

"That  is  very  good — that  is  excellent !  I  will  send 
Zeitoonli  servants  to  the  Yeni  Khan  at  once.  Pay  them 
the  right  price.  Have  you  horses  ?  Camels  are  of  no  use, 
nor  yet  are  wheels — you  shall  know  why  later !  Mules  are 
best." 

"I  know  where  you  can  hire  mules,"  said  the  consul, 
"with  a  Turkish  muleteer  to  each  pair." 

"Oh,  well !"  laughed  Kagig,  leaning  back  against  the 
rail  and  moving  his  hands  palms  upward  as  if  he  weighed 
one  thought  against  another.  "\Miat  is  the  difference?  If 
a  few  Turks  more  or  less  come  to  an  end  over  Zeitoon 
bridge—" 

It  was  only  for  moments  at  a  time  that  he  seemed  able 
to  force  himself  to  speak  as  our  inferior.  A  Turk  of  the 
guide  class  would  likely  have  knelt  and  placed  a  foot  of 
each  of  us  on  his  neck  in  turn  as  soon  as  he  knew  we 
had  engaged  him.  This  Armenian  seemed  made  of  other 
stuff. 

"Then  be  on  hand  to-morrow  morning,"  ordered 
Monty. 

But  the  Eye  of  Zeitoon  had  another  surprise  for  us. 

"I  shall  meet  you  on  the  road,"  he  announced  with  an 
air  of  a  social  equal.  "Servants  shall  attend  you  at  the 
Yeni  Khan.  They  will  say  nothing  at  all,  and  work  splen- 


,*rHE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  37 

didly !  Start  when  you  like ;  you  will  find  me  waiting  for 
you  at  a  good  place  on  the  road.  Bring  not  plenty,  but 
too  much  ammunition !    Good  day,  then,  gentlemen !" 

He  nodded  to  us — bowed  to  the  consul — vaulted  the 
rail.  A  second  later  he  grinned  at  us  again  through  the 
tiny  window.  "I  am  the  Eye  of  Zeitoon  !"  he  boasted,  and 
was  gone.  A  servant  whom  the  consul  sent  to  follow 
him  came  back  after  ten  or  fifteen  minutes  saying  he  had 
lost  him  in  a  maze  of  narrow  streets. 

His  latter,  offhanded  manner  scarcely  auguring  well, 
we  debated  whether  or  not  to  search  for  some  one  more 
likely  amenable  to  discipline  to  take  his  place.  But  the 
consul  spent  an  hour  telling  us  about  the  letter  that  went 
to  Adrianople,  and  the  bringing  back  of  the  answer  that 
hastened  peace. 

"He  was  shot  badly.  He  nearly  died  on  the  way  back. 
I've  no  idea  how  he  recovered.  He  wouldn't  accept  a 
piaster  more  than  the  price  agreed  on." 

"Let's  take  a  chance !"  said  Will,  and  we  were  all 
agreed  before  he  urged  it. 

"There's  one  other  thing,"  said  the  consul.  "I've  been 
told  a  Miss  Gloria  Vandcrman  is  on  her  way  to  the  mis- 
sion at  Marash — " 

"Gee  whiz !"  said  Will. 

The  consul  nodded.  "She's  pretty,  if  that's  what  you 
mean.  It  was  very  unwise  to  let  her  go,  escorted  only 
by  Armenians.  Of  course,  she  may  get  through  without 
as  much  as  suspecting  Irouljlc's  brewing,  but — well — I 
wish  you'd  look  out  for  her." 

"Qiicken,  ch  ?" 

Will  stuck  both  hands  deep  in  his  trousers  pockets  and 
tilted  his  chair  backward  to  the  point  of  perfect  poise. 


38  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

"Cuckoo,  you  ass!"  laughed  Fred,  kicking  the  chair 
over  backward,  and  then  piHng  all  the  veranda  furniture 
on  top,  to  the  scandalized  amazement  of  the  stately  ka- 
vass,  who  came  at  that  moment  shepherding  a  small  boy 
with  a  large  tray  and  perfectly  enormous  drinks. 


WHERE  TWO  OR  THREE 

Oh,  all  the  zvorld  is  sick  with  hate, 

And  who  shall  heal  it,  friend  o'  mijief 

And  zvho  is  friend?    And  zvho  shall  stand 

Since  hireling  tongtie  and  alien  hand 

Kill  nobleness  in  all  this  land? 

Judas  and  Pharisee  combine 

To  plunder  and  proclaim  it  Fate. 

Days  when  the  upright  dared  be  few 

Are  they  departed,  friend  o'  mine? 

Are  bribery  and  rich  largesse 

Fair  props  for  fat  forgetfnlncss, 

Or  anodynous  of  distress? 

Oh,  would  the  world  zi'ere  drunk  zvith  vjine 

And  not  tJiis  last  besotting  brezv! 

Oh,  for  the  zvondcrful  again — 
The  greatly  daring,  friend  o'  mine! 
The  simply  gallant  blade  itnbought. 
The  soul  compassionate,  unsought. 
With  no  price  but  the  priceless  thought 
Nor  purpose  than  the  brave  design 
Of  giving  that  the  world  may  gain! 


CHAPTER  THREE 
'"Sahib,  there  is  ahvays  ivork  for  real  soldiers!" 

SO  WE  took  two  rooms  at  the  Yeni  Khan  instead  of 
one,  not  being  minded  to  sleep  as  closely  as  the  gen- 
try of  Asia  Minor  like  to.  Will  hurried  us  down  there  for 
a  look  at  the  gipsy  girl.  But  the  tent  was  gone  and  the 
gipsies  with  it,  and  when  we  asked  questions  about  them 
people  spat. 

Your  good  Moslem — and  a  Moslem  is  good  in  those 
parts  who  makes  a  mountain  of  observances,  regarding 
mole-hills  of  mere  morals  not  at  all — affects  to  despise  all 
giaours;  but  a  giaour,  like  a  gipsy,  who  has  no  obvious 
religion  of  any  kind,  he  ranks  below  the  pig  in  order  of 
reverence.  It  did  not  redound  to  our  credit  that  we 
showed  interest  in  the  movements  of  such  people. 

Monty  brought  an  enormous  can  of  bug-powder  with 
him,  and  restored  our  popularity  by  lending  generously 
after  he  had  treated  our  quarters  sufficiently  for  three 
days'  stay.  Fred  did  nothing  to  our  quarters — stirred 
no  finger,  claiming  convalescence  with  his  tongue  in 
his  cheek,  and  strolling  about  until  he  fell  utterly  in  love 
with  the  khan  and  its  crowd,  and  the  khan  with  him. 

That  very  first  night  he  brought  out  his  concertina  on 
the  balcony,  and  yowled  songs  to  its  clamor ;  and  whether 
or  not  the  various  crowd  agreed  on  naming  the  noise 
jnusic,  all  were  delighted  with  the  friendliness. 

Fred  talks  more  languages  fluently  than  he  can  count 

40 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOOK  41 

on  the  fingers  of  both  hands.  He  began  to  tell  tales  in 
a  sing-song  eastern  snarl — a  tale  in  Persian,  then  in 
Turkish,  and  the  night  grew  breathless,  full  of  listening, 
until  pent-up  interest  at  intervals  burst  bonds  and  there 
were  "Ahs"  and  "Ohs"  all  amid  the  dark,  like  little 
breaths  of  night  wind  among  trees. 

He  found  small  time  for  sleep,  and  when  dawn  came, 
and  four  Zeitoonli  servants  according  to  Kagig's  prom- 
ise, they  still  swarmed  around  him  begging  for  more.  He 
went  off  to  eat  breakfast  with  a  khan  from  Bokhara, 
sitting  on  a  bale  of  nearly  priceless  carpets  to  drink  over- 
land tea  made  in  a  thing  like  a  samovar. 

All  the  rest  of  that  day,  and  the  next,  sleeping  only  at 
intervals,  while  Monty  and  Will  and  I  helped  the  Zei- 
toonli servants  get  our  loads  in  shape,  Fred  sharpened 
his  wonder-gift  of  tongues  on  the  fascinated  men  of 
many  nations,  giving  them  London  ditties  and  tales  from 
the  Thousand  Nights  and  a  Night  in  exchange  for  their 
news  of  caravan  routes.  He  left  them  well  pleased  with 
their  bargain. 

Monty  went  off  alone  the  second  day  to  see  about  mules. 
The  Turk  with  a  trade  to  make  believes  that  of  several 
partners  one  is  always  "easier"  than  the  rest ;  conse- 
quently, one  man  can  bring  him  to  see  swifter  reason  thaii 
a  number  can.  lie  came  back  that  evening  with  twelve 
good  mules  and  four  attendants. 

"One  apiece  to  ride,  and  two  apiece  to  carry  every- 
thing. Not  another  mule  to  be  had.  Unpack  the  loads 
agaia  and  make  them  smaller?" 

Fred  came  and  sat  with  us  that  night  before  the  char- 
coal bmzlcr  in  his  and  Monty's  room. 

"They  all  talk  of  robbers  on  the  road,"  he  said.  "North- 
ward, through  the  Circassian  Gates,  or  eastward  it's  all 


42  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

the  same.  There's  a  man  in  a  room  across  the  way  who 
was  stripped  stark  naked  and  beaten  because  they  thought 
he  might  have  money  in  his  clothes.  When  he  reached 
this  place  without  a  stitch  on  him  he  still  had  all  his 
money  in  his  clenched  fists!  Quite  a  sportsman — what? 
Imagine  his  juggling  with  it  while  they  whipped  him  with 
knotted  cords !" 

"What  have  you  heard  about  Kagig  ?" 

"Nothing.  But  a  lot  about  vnkuart.'^  It's  vague,  but 
there's  something  in  the  air.  You'll  notice  the  Turkish 
muleteers  are  having  nothing  whatever  to  say  to  our 
Zeitoonli,  although  they've  accepted  the  same  service. 
Moslems  are  keeping  together,  and  Armenians  are  getting 
the  silence  cure.  Armenians  are  even  shy  of  speaking 
to  one  another.  I've  tried  listening,  and  I've  tried  ask- 
ing questions,  although  that  was  risky.  I  can't  get  a  word 
of  explanation.  I've  noticed,  though,  that  the  ugly  mood 
is  broadening.  They've  been  polite  to*  me,  but  I've  heard 
the  word  shapkoli  applied  more  than  once  to  you  fellows. 
Means  hatted  man,  you  know.  Not  a  serious  insult,  but 
implies  contempt." 

Nothing  but  comfort  and  respectability  ever  seemed 
able  to  make  Fred  gloomy.  He  discussed  our  present 
prospects  with  the  air  of  an  epicure  ordering  dinner.  And 
Monty  listened  with  his  dark,  delightful  smile — the  kind- 
hest  smile  in  all  the  world.  I  have  seen  unthoughtful 
men  mistake  it  for  a  sign  of  weakness. 

I  have  never  known  him  to  argue.  Nor  did  he  then, 
but  strode  straight  down  into  the  khan  yard,  we  sit- 
ting on  the  balcony  to  watch.  He  visited  our  string 
of   mules  first   for  an  excuse,  and   invited   a   Kurdish 


*  Turkish  word :  happenings,  a  euphemism  for  massacre. 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  43 

chieftain  (all  Kurds  are  chieftains  away  from  home)  to 
inspect  a  swollen  fetlock.  With  that  subtle  flattery  he 
unlocked  the  man's  reserve,  passed  on  from  chance  re- 
mark to  frank,  good-humored  questions,  and  within  an 
hour  had  talked  with  twenty  men.  At  last  he  called  to 
one  of  the  Zeitoonli  to  come  and  scrape  the  yard  dung 
from  his  boots,  climbed  the  stairs  leisurely,  and  sat  be- 
side us. 

"You're  quite  right,  Fred,"  he  said  quietly. 

Then  there  came  suddenly  from  out  the  darkness  a 
yell  for  help  in  English  that  brought  three  of  us  to  our 
feet.  Fred  brushed  his  fierce  mustaches  upward  with 
an  air  of  satisfaction,  and  sat  still. 

"There's  somebody  down  there  quite  wrong,  and  in  line 
at  last  to  find  out  why !"  he  said.  "I've  been  waiting  for 
this.     Sit  down." 

We  obeyed  him,  though  the  yells  continued.  There 
came  blows  suggestive  of  a  woman  on  the  housetops  beat- 
ing carpets. 

"D'you  recollect  the  man  I  mentioned  at  the  consulate 
— the  biped  Peter  Measel,  missionary  on  his  own  account, 
who  keeps  a  diary  and  libels  ladies  in  it?  Well,  he's  foul 
of  a  thaliikdar*  from  Rajputana,  and  of  a  Prussian  con- 
tractor, recruiting  men  for  work  on  the  Baghdad  rail- 
way. I  wasn't  allowed  to  murder  him.  I  see  why  now — 
finger  of  justice — Pd  have  been  too  quick.  Sit  down, 
you  idiots !  You've  no  idea  what  he  wrote  about  Miss 
Vanderman.    Let  him  scream,  I  like  it !" 

"Come  along,"  said  Monty.  "If  he  were  a  bad-house 
keeper  he  has  had  enough !" 

P>ut  Will  had  gone  before  us,  headlong  down  the  stairs 


*  Punjabi  word — landholder. 


'44  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

with  the  speed  off  the  mark  that  they  taught  him  on  the 
playing  field  at  Bowdoin.  When  we  caught  up  he  was 
standing  astride  a  prostrate  being  who  sobbed  like  a 
cow  with  its  throat  cut,  and  a  Rajput  and  a  German,  either 
of  them  six  feet  tall,  were  considering  whether  or  not 
to  resent  the  violence  of  his  interference.  The  German 
"was  disposed  to  yield  to  numbers.    The  Rajput  not  so. 

"Why  are  you  beating  him  ?"  asked  Monty. 

"Gott  in  Himmcl,  who  would  not !  He  wrote  of  me  in 
his  diary — der  Limvtel! — tliat  I  shanghai  laborers.'* 

"Do  you,  or  don't  you  ?"  asked  Monty  sweetly. 

"Kreutz-blitzen!  What  is  that  to  do  with  you — or 
with  him?  What  right  had  he  to  write  that  people  in 
France  should  pray  for  me  in  church  ?" 

The  Rajput  all  this  while  was  standing  simmering,  as 
ready  as  a  boar  at  bay  to  fight  the  lot  of  us,  yet  I  thought 
with  an  air  about  him,  too,  of  half-conscious  surprise. 
Several  times  he  took  a  half-pace  forward  to  assert  his 
right  of  chastisement,  looked  hard  at  Monty,  and  checked 
mid-stride. 

"You've  done  enough,"  said  Monty. 

"Who  are  you  that  says  so?"  the  German  retorted. 

"He  -  who  -  will  -  attend  -  to  -  it  -  that  -  you  -  do  -  no- 
more!"  Monty's  smooth  voice  had  become  without  in- 
flection. 

"Bah !   That  is  easy,  isn't  it  ?   You  are  four  to  one !" 

"Five  to  one !" 

The  Rajput's  gruflf  throat  thrilled  with  a  new  emotion. 
He  sprang  suddenly  past  me,  and  thrust  himself  between 
Monty  and  the  German,  who  took  advantage  of  the  op- 
portunity to  walk  away. 

"Lord  Montdidier,  colonel  sahib  bahadur,  burra  sa- 
laam !" 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  45 

He  made  no  obeisance,  but  stood  facing  Monty  eye  to 
eye.  The  words,  as  he  rolled  them  out,  were  like  an 
order  given  to  a  thousand  men.  One  almost  heard  the 
swish  of  sabers  as  the  squadrons  came  to  the  general 
salute. 

"I  knew  you,  Rustum  Khan,  the  minute  I  set  eyes  on 
you.    Why  were  you  beating  this  man  ?" 

"Sahib  bahadur,  because  he  wrote  in  his  book  that  peo- 
ple in  France  should  pray  for  me  in  church,  naming  my 
honorable  name,  because,  says  he — but  I  will  not  repeat 
what  he  says.     It  is  not  seemly." 

"How  do  you  know  what  is  in  his  diary?"  Monty 
asked. 

"That  German  read  it  out  to  me.  We  were  sitting, 
he  and  I,  discussing  how  the  Turks  intend  to  butcher  the 
Armenians,  as  all  the  world  knows  is  written.  They  say 
it  shall  happen  soon.  Said  he  to  me — the  German  said 
to  me — 'I  know  another,'  said  he,  'who  if  I  had  my  way 
should  suffer  first  in  that  event.*  Saying  which  he 
showed  the  written  book  that  he  had  found,  and  read 
me  parts  of  it.  The  German  was  for  denouncing  the 
fellow  as  a  friend  of  Armenians,  but  I  was  for  beating 
him  at  once,  and  I  had  my  way." 

"Where  is  the  book?"  demanded  Monty. 

"The  German  has  it." 

"The  German  has  no  right  to  it." 

"I  will  bring  it." 

Rustum  Khan  strode  off  into  the  night,  and  Monty 
bent  over  the  sobbing  form  of  the  self-appointed  mission- 
ary. We  were  all  alone  in  the  midst  of  the  courtyard, 
not  even  watched  from  behind  the  wheels  of  arabas,  for 
a  fight  or  a  thrashing  in  the  khans  of  Asia  Minor  is 
strictly  the  affair  of  him  who  gets  the  worst  of  it. 


46  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

"Will  you  burn  that  book  of  yours,  Measel,  if  we  pro- 
tect you  from  further  assault  ?" 

The  man  sobbed  that  he  would  do  anything,  but  Monty 
held  him  to  the  point,  and  at  last  procured  a  specific 
afiBrmative.  Then  Rustum  Khan  came  back  with  the  of- 
fending tome.  It  was  bulky  enough  to  contain  an  account 
of  the  sins  of  Asia  Minor. 

Fred  and  I  picked  the  poor  fellow  up  and  led  him  to 
\\'here  the  cooking  places  stood  in  one  long  row.  Will 
carried  the  book,  and  Paistum  Khan  stole  wood  from 
other  folks'  piles,  and  fanned  a  fire.  We  watched  the  un- 
happy Peter  Measel  put  the  book  on  the  flames  with  his 
own  hands. 

"You're  old  enough  to  have  known  better  than  keep 
such  a  diary !"  said  Monty,  stirring  the  charred  pages. 

"I  am  at  any  rate  a  martyr !"  Measel  answered. 

The  man  could  walk  by  that  time — he  was  presumably 
abstemious  and  recovered  from  shock  quickly.  Monty 
sent  me  to  see  him  to  his  room,  which  turned  out  to  be 
next  the  German's,  and  until  Will  came  over  from  our 
quarters  with  first-aid  stuff  from  our  chest  I  spent  the 
minutes  telling  the  German  what  should  happen  to  him  in 
case  he  should  so  far  forget  discretion  as  to  resume  the 
offensive.  He  said  nothing  in  reply,  but  sat  in  his  door- 
way looking  up  at  me  with  an  expression  intended  to 
make  me  feel  nervous  of  reprisals  without  committing 
him  to  deeds. 

Later,  when  we  had  done  our  best  for  "the  martyred 
biped  Measel,"  as  Fred  described  him.  Will  and  I  found 
Rustum  Khan  with  Fred  and  Monty  seated  around  the 
charcoal  brazier  in  Monty's  room,  deep  in  the  valley  of 
reminiscences.  Our  entry  rather  broke  the  spell,  but 
Rustum  Khan  was  not  to  be  denied. 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  47 

"You  used  to  tell  in  those  days,  Colonel  sahib  bahadur," 
he  said,  addressing  Monty  with  that  full-measured  com- 
pliment that  the  chivalrous,  old  East  still  cherishes,  "of 
a  castle  of  your  ancestors  in  these  parts.  Do  you  remem- 
ber, when  I  showed  you  the  ruins  of  my  family  place  in 
Rajputana,  how  you  stood  beside  me  on  the  heights,  sa- 
hib, and  vowed  some  day  to  hunt  for  that  Crusaders' 
nest,  as  you  called  it?" 

"That  is  the  immediate  purpose  of  this  trip  of  ours," 
said  Monty. 

"Ah!"  said  the  Rajput,  and  was  silent  for  about  a 
minute.  Fred  Oakes  began  to  hum  through  his  nose. 
He  has  a  ridiculous  belief  that  doing  that  throws  keen 
inquirers  off  a  scent. 

"Colonel  sahib,  since  I  was  a  little  butcha  not  as  high  as 
your  knee  I  have  spoken  English  and  sat  at  the  feet  of 
British  officers.  Little  enough  I  know,  but  by  the  beard 
of  God's  prophet  I  know  this :  when  a  British  colonel  sa- 
hib speaks  of  'immediate  purposes,'  there  are  hidden  pur- 
poses of  greater  importance !" 

"That  well  may  be,"  said  Monty  gravely.  "I  remem- 
ber you  always  were  a  student  of  significant  details, 
Rustum  Khan." 

"There  was  a  time  when  I  was  in  your  honor's  confi- 
dence." 

Monty  smiled. 

"That  was  years  ago.  What  are  you  doing  here,  Rus- 
tum Khan  ?" 

"A  fair  enough  question !  I  hang  my  head.  As  you 
know,  sahib,  I  am  a  rangar.  My  people  were  all  Sikhs 
for  several  generations  back.  We  converts  to  Islam  are 
usually  more  ihorough-going  than  born  Moslems  are.  I 
started  to  make  the  pilgrimage  to  ]\lecca,  riding  over- 


48  THE  F.YE  OF  ZEITOON 

land  alone  by  way  of  Persia.  As  I  came,  missing  few 
opportunities  to  talk  with  men,  who  should  have  been 
the  lights  of  my  religion,  I  have  felt  enthusiasm  waning. 
These  weeks  past  I  have  contemplated  return  without  vis- 
iting Mecca  at  all.  I  have  wandered  to  and  fro,  hoping 
for  the  fervor  back  again,  yet  finding  none.  And  now, 
sahib,  I  find  you — I,  Rustum  Khan,  at  a  loose  end  for 
lack  of  inspiration.  I  have  prayed.  Colonel  sahib  bar 
hadur,  I  believe  thou  art  the  gift  of  God!" 

Monty  sought  our  eyes  in  turn  in  the  lantern-lit  dark- 
ness. We  made  no  sign.  None  of  us  but  he  knew  the 
Rajput,  so  it  was  plainly  his  affair. 

"Suit  yourself,"  said  Will,  and  the  rest  of  us  nodded. 

"We  are  traveling  into  the  interior,"  said  Monty,  "in 
the  rather  doubtful  hope  that  our  absence  from  a  coast 
city  may  in  some  way  help  Armenians,  Rustum  Khan." 

The  Rajput  jumped  to  his  -feet  that  instant,  and  came 
to  the  salute. 

"I  might  have  known  as  much.  Colonel  Lord  Mont- 
didier  sahib,  I  offer  fealty !  My  blood  be  thine  to  spill  in 
thy  cause !  Thy  life  on  my  head — thine  honor  on  my  life 
— thy  way  my  way,  and  God  be  my  witness !" 

"Don't  be  rash,  Rustum  Khan.  Our  likeliest  fate  is 
to  be  taken  prisoner  by  men  of  your  religion,  who  will 
call  you  a  renegade  if  you  defend  Armenians.  And  what 
are  Armenians  to  you?" 

"Ah,  sahib !  You  drive  a  sharp  spur  into  an  open  sore ! 
I  have  seen  too  much  of  ill- faith — cruelty — robbery — 
torture — rapine — butchery,  all  in  the  name  of  God  !  It 
is  this  last  threat  to  the  Armenians  that  is  the  final  straw! 
I  took  the  pilgrimage  in  search  of  grace.  The  nearer  I 
came  to  the  place  they  tell  me  is  on  earth  the  home  of 
grace,  the  more  unfaith  I  see !    Three  nights  ago  in  an- 


rrHE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  49 

other  place  I  was  led  aside  and  offered  the  third  of  the 
wealth  of  a  fat  Armenian  if  I  would  lend  my  sword  to 
slit  helpless  throats — in  the  name  of  God,  the  compas- 
sionate, be  merciful !  My  temper  was  about  spoilt  forever 
when  that  young  idiot  over  the  way  described  me  in  his 
book  as — never  mind  how  he  described  me — ^he  paid  the 
price!  Sahib  bahadur,  I  take  my  stand  with  the  defense- 
less, where  I  know  thou  and  thy  friends  will  surely  be  \ 
I  am  thy  man !" 
■     "It  is  not  included  in  our  plans  to  fight,"  said  Monty. 

"Sahib,  there  is  always  work  for  real  soldiers!" 

"What  do  you  fellows  say?  Shall  we  let  him  come 
with  us  ?" 

"I  travel  at  my  own  charges,  sahib.  I  am  well  mounted 
and  well  armed." 

"Sure,  let  him  come  with  us  1"  said  Will.  "I  like  the 
man." 

"He  has  my  leave  to  come  along  to  England  after- 
ward," said  Fred,  "if  he'll  guarantee  to  address  me  as 
the  'gift  of  God'  in  public!" 

I  left  them  talking  and  returned  to  sec  whether  the 
"martyred  biped  Mcasel"  needed  further  help.  He  was 
asleep,  and  as  I  listened  to  his  breathing  I  heard  voices 
in  the  next  room.  The  German  was  talking  m  English, 
that  being  often  the  only  tongue  that  ten  men  have  in 
common.  Through  the  partly  opened  door  I  could  see 
that  his  room  was  crammed  with  men. 

"They  arc  spies,  everyone  of  tliem !"  I  heard  him  say. 
"The  man  I  thrashed  is  of  their  party.  You  yourselves 
saw  how  they  came  to  his  rescue,  and  seduced  the  Indian 
by  means  of  threats.  This  is  the  way  of  the  JCngHsh. 
("Curse  them!"  said  a  voice.)  They  write  notes  in  a 
book,  and  when  tliat  offense  is  detected  they  bum  the 


50  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

book  in  a  corner,  as  ye  saw  them  do.  I  saw  the  book  be- 
fore they  burned  it.  I  thrashed  the  spy  who  wrote  in 
the  book  because  he  had  written  in  it  reports  on  what  it 
is  proposed  to  do  to  infidels  at  the  time  ye  know  about. 
I  tell  you  those  men  are  all  spies — one  is  as  bad  as  the 
other.  They  work  en  behalf  of  Armenians,  to  bring 
about  interference  from  abroad." 

That  he  had  already  produced  an  atmosphere  of  dan- 
ger to  us  I  had  immediate  proof,  for  as  I  crossed  the 
yard  again  I  dodged  behind  an  araha  in  the  nick  of  time 
to  avoid  a  blow  aimed  at  me  with  a  sword  by  a  man  I 
could  not  see. 

"All  your  charming  is  undone!"  I  told  Fred,  bursting 
in  on  our  party  by  the  charcoal  brazier.  Almost  breath- 
less I  reeled  off  what  I  had  overheard.  "They'll  be  here 
to  murder  us  by  dawn !"  I  said. 

"Will  they?"  said  Monty.  . 

We  were  up  and  away  two  hours  before  dawn,  to  the 
huge  delight  of  our  Turkish  muleteers,  who  consider  a 
dawn  start  late,  yet  not  too  early  for  the  servants  of  the 
khan,  who  knew  enough  European  manners  to  stand 
about  the  gate  and  beg  for  tips.  Nor  were  we  quite  too 
early  for  the  enemy,  who  came  out  into  the  open  and 
pelted  us  with  clods  of  dung,  the  German  encouraging 
from  the  roof.  Fred  caught  him  unaware  full  in  the 
face  with  a  well-aimed  piece  of  offal.  Then  the  khan 
keeper  slammed  the  gate  behind  us  and  we  rode  into  the 
unknown. 


THE  ROAD 

There  is  a  mystery  concerning  roads 

And  he  who  loves  the  Road  shall  never  tire. 

For  him  the  brooks  have  voices  and  the  breeze 

Brings  neivs  of  far-off'  leafiness  and  leas 

And  vales  all  blossomy.   The  clinging  mire 

Shall  never  weary  such  an  one,  nor  yet  their  loads 

O'ercome  the  beasts  that  serve  him.  Rock  and  rill 

Shall  make  the  pleasant  league  go  by  as  hours 

With  secret  tales  they  tell;  tlie  loosened  stone, 

Sweet  turf  upturned,  the  bees'  full-purposed  drone. 

The  hum  of  happy  insects  among  flozvcrs, 

And  God's  blue  sky  to  crozvn  each  hill! 

Dazi'n  zi'ith  her  jezv el-throated  birds 

To  him  shall  be  a  nezv  page  in  the  Book 

That  nez'cr  had  bcgiyming  nor  shall  end. 

And  each  increasing  hour  delights  shall  lend — 

Nezv  notes  in  every  sound — in  every  nook 

Nezv  sights — nezv  thoughts  too  zvide  for  zvords. 

Too  deep  for  pen,  too  high  for  human  song, 

That  only  in  the  quietness  of  zvinding  zvays 

From  tumult  and  all  bitterness  apart 

Can  find  coinnuuiication  zvith  the  heart — 

Thoughts  that  make  joyous  moments  of  the  days. 

And  no  road  heavy,  and  no  journey  long! 


CHAPTER  FOUR 
*'lVe  arc  the  robbers,  effendi!" 

THE  snow  threatened  in  the  mountains  had  not  ma- 
terialized, and  the  weather  had  changed  to  pure 
perfection.  About  an  hour  after  we  started  the  khan 
emptied  itself  behind  us  in  a  long  string,  jingling  and 
clanging  with  horse  and  camel  bells.  But  they  turned 
northward  to  pass  through  the  famed  Circassian  Gates, 
whereas  we  followed  the  plain  that  paralleled  the  moun- 
tain range — our  mules'  feet  hidden  by  eight  inches  of 
primordial  ooze. 

"Wish  it  were  only  worse!"  said  Monty.  "Snow  or 
rain  might  postpone  massacre.  Delay  might  mean  can- 
cellation.'* 

But  there  was  no  prospect  whatever  of  rain.  The  Asia 
Minor  spring,  perfumed  and  amazing  sweet,  breathed 
all  about  us,  spattered  with  little  diamond-bursts  of  tune 
as  the  larks  skyrocketed  to  let  the  wide  world  know  how 
glad  they  were.  Whatever  dark  fate  might  be  brooding 
over  a  nation,  it  was  humanly  impossible  for  us  to  feel 
low-spirited. 

Our  Zeltoonli  Armenians  trudged  through  the  mud 
behind  us  at  a  splendid  pace — mountain-men  with  faces 
toward  their  hills.  The  Turks — owners  of  the  animals 
another  man  had  hired  to  us — rode  perched  on  top  of  the 
loads  in  stoic  silence,  changing  from  mule  to  mule  as  the 
hours  passed  and  watching  very  carefully  that  no  mule 
should  be  overtaxed  or  chilled.   In  fact,  the  first  attempt 

52 


■  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  53 

they  made  to  enter  into  conversation  with  us  was  when 
we  dallied  to  admire  a  view  of  Taurus  Mountain,  and 
one  of  them  closed  up  to  tell  us  the  mules  were  catching 
cold  in  the  wind.  (If  they  had  been  our  animals  it  might 
have  been  another  story.) 

Their  contempt  for  the  Zeitoonli  was  perfectly  illus- 
trated by  the  difference  in  situation.  They  rode;  the 
Armenians  walked.  Yet  the  Armenians  were  less  afraid ; 
and  when  we  crossed  a  swollen  ford  where  a  mule  caught 
his  forefoot  between  rocks  and  was  drowning,  it  was 
Armenians,  not  Turks,  who  plunged  into  the  icy  water 
and  worked  him  free  without  straining  as  much  as  a 
tendon. 

The  Turks  were  obsessed  by  perpetual  fear  of  robbers. 
That,  and  no  other  motive,  made  them  tolerate  the  hec- 
toring of  Rustum  Khan,  who  had  constituted  himself 
officer  of  transport,  and  brought  up  the  rear  on  his  su- 
perb bay  mare.  As  he  had  promised  us  he  would,  he  rode 
well  armed,  and  the  sight  of  his  pistol  holsters,  the  rifle 
protruding  stock-first  from  a  leather  case,  and  his  long 
Rajput  saber  probably  accomplished  more  than  merely 
keeping  Turks  in  countenance;  it  prevented  them  from 
scattering  and  bolting  home. 

I  lis  own  baggage  was  j^acked  on  two  mules  in  charge 
of  an  Armenian  boy,  who  was  more  afraid  of  our  Turks 
than  they  of  robbers.  Yet,  when  we  demanded  of  our 
muleteers  what  sort  of  men,  and  of  what  nation  the 
dreaded  highwaymen  might  be  they  pointed  at  Rustum 
Khan's  lean  servant.  At  the  khan  the  night  before  one 
of  them  had  pointed  out  to  Monty  two  Circassians  and 
a  Kurd  as  reputed  to  have  a  monopoly  of  robbery  on  all 
those  roads.  Nevertheless,  they  made  the  new  accusation 
without  blinking. 


54  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

"All  rol)bers  are  Armenians — all  Armenians  are  rob- 
bers !"  they  assured  us  gravely. 

When  we  halted  for  a  meal  they  refused  to  eat  with 
our  Zeitoonli,  although  they  graciously  permitted  them 
to  gather  all  the  firewood,  and  accepted  pieces  of  their 
pAsdcrma  (sun-dried  meat)  as  if  that  were  their  due. 
As  soon  as  they  had  eaten,  and  before  we  had  finished, 
Ibrahim,  their  grizzled  senior,  came  to  us  with  a  new 
demand.  On  its  face  it  was  not  outrageous,  because  we 
were  doing  our  own  cooking,  as  any  man  does  who  has 
ever  peeped  into  a  Turkish  servant's  behind-the-scene 
arrangements. 

"Send  those  Armenians  away !"  he  urged.  "We  Turks 
are  worth  twice  their  number !" 

"By  the  beard  of  God's  prophet !"  thundered  Rustum 
Khan,  "who  gave  camp-followers  the  right  to  impose 
advice  ?" 

"They  are  in  league  with  highwaymen  to  lead  you  into 
a  trap !"  Ibrahim  answered. 

Rustum  Khan  rattled  the  saber  that  lay  on  the  rock 
beside  him. 

"I  am  hunting  for  fear,"  he  said.  "All  my  life  I  have 
hunted  for  fear  and  never  found  it !" 

"Pekki!"  said  Ibrahim  dryly.  The  word  means  "very 
well."  The  tone  implied  that  when  the  emergency  should 
come  we  should  do  well  not  to  depend  on  him,  for  he  had 
warned  us. 

We  were  marching  about  parallel  with  the  course  the 
completed  Baghdad  railway  was  to  take,  and  there  were 
frequent  parties  of  surveyors  and  engineers  in  sight. 
Once  we  came  near  enough  to  talk  with  the  German  in 
charge  of  a  party,  encamped  very  sumptuously  near  his 
work.   He  had  a  numerous  armed  guard  of  Turks. 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  55 

"A  precaution  against  robbers?"  Monty  asked,  and  I 
did  not  hear  what  the  German  answered. 

Rustum  Khan  laughed  and  drew  me  aside. 

"Every  German  in  these  parts  has  a  guard  to  protect 
him  from  his  own  men,  sahib !  For  a  while  on  my  jour- 
ney westward  I  had  charge  of  a  camp  of  recruited  labor- 
ers. Therefore  I  know." 

The  German  was  immensely  anxious  to  know  all  about 
us  and  our  intentions.  He  told  us  his  name  was  Hans 
von  Quedlinburg,  plainly  expecting  us  to  be  impressed. 

"I  can  direct  you  to  good  quarters,  where  you  can  rest 
comfortably  at  every  stage,  if  you  will  tell  me  your  direc- 
tion," he  said. 

But  we  did  not  tell  him.  Later,  while  we  ate  a  meal, 
he  came  and  questioned  our  Turks  very  closely ;  but  since 
they  were  in  ignorance  they  did  not  tell  him  either, 

"Why  do  you  travel  with  Armenian  servants?"  he 
asked  us  finally  before  we  moved  away. 

"We  like  'em,"  said  Monty. 

"They'll  only  get  you  in  trouble.  We've  dismissed  all 
Armenian  laborers  from  the  railway  works.  Not  trust- 
worthy, you  know.  Our  agents  are  out  recruiting  Mos- 
lems." 

"What's  the  matter  with  Armenians?" 

"Oh,  don't  you  know  ?" 

"I'm  asking." 

The  German  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

"I'll  tell  you  one  thing.  Tbis  will  illustrate.  I  had  an 
Armenian  clerk.  He  worked  all  day  in  my  tent.  A  week 
ago  I  found  him  reading  among  my  jjrivatc  papers.  That 
proves  you  can't  trust  an  Armenian." 

"Ample  evidence!"  said  Monty  without  a  smile,  but 
Fred  laughed  as  we  rode  away,  and  the  German  stared 


56  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

after  its  with  a  new  set  of  emotions  pictured  on  his  heavy 
face. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  we  passed  through  a  village  in 
which  about  two  hundred  Armenian  men  and  women 
were  holding  a  gathering  in  a  church  large  enough  to 
hold  three  times  the  number.  One  of  them  saw  us  com- 
ing, and  they  all  trooped  out  to  meet  us,  imagining  we 
were  officials  of  some  kind. 

*'Effendi,"  said  their  pastor  with  a  trembling  hand  on 
Monty's  saddle,  **the  Turks  in  this  village  have  been 
washing  their  white  garments  1" 

AVe  had  heard  in  Tarsus  what  that  ceremony  meant. 

"It  means,  effcndi,  they  believe  their  purpose  holy! 
What  shall  we  do — ^what  shall  we  do  ?" 

"Why  not  go  into  Tarsus  and  claim  protection  at  the 
British  consulate?"  suggested  Fred. 

"But  our  friends  of  Tarsus  warn  us  the  worst  fury  of 
all  will  be  in  the  cities !" 

"Take  to  the  hills,  then !"  Monty  advised  him. 

"But  how  can  we,  sir  ?  How  can  we  ?  We  have  homes 
— property — children !  We  are  watched.  The  first  at- 
tempt by  a  number  of  us  to  escape  to  the  hills  would 
bring  destruction  down  on  all !" 

"Then  escape  to  the  hills  by  twos  and  threes.  You 
ask  my  advice — I  give  it." 

It  looked  like  very  good  advice.  The  slopes  of  the 
foot-hills  seemed  covered  by  a  carpet  of  myrtle  scrub,  in 
which  whole  armies  could  have  lain  in  ambush.  And 
above  that  the  cliflfs  of  the  Kara  Dagh  rose  rocky  and 
wild,  suggesting  small  comfort  but  sure  hiding-places. 

"You'll  never  make  me  believe  you  Armenians  haven't 
hidden  supplies,"  said  Monty.  "Take  to  the  hills  until 
the  fury  is  over !" 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  57 

But  the  old  man  shook  his  head,  and  his  people  seemed 
at  one  with  him.  These  were  not  like  our  Zeitoonli,  but 
wore  the  settled  gloom  of  resignation  that  is  poor  half- 
brother  to  Moslem  fanaticism,  caught  by  subjection  and 
infection  from  the  bullying  Turk.  There  was  nothing 
we  could  do  at  that  late  hour  to  overcome  the  inertia 
produced  by  centuries,  and  we  rode  on,  ourselves  in- 
fected to  the  verge  of  misery.  Only  our  Zeitoonli,  strid- 
ing along  like  men  on  holiday,  retained  their  good  spirits, 
and  they  tried  to  keep  up  ours  by  singing  their  extraor- 
dinary songs. 

During  the  day  we  heard  of  the  chicken,  as  Will  called 
her,  somewhere  on  ahead,  and  we  spent  that  night  at  a 
kahveh,  which  is  a  place  with  all  a  khan's  inconveniences, 
but  no  dignity  whatever.  There  they  knew  nothing  of 
her  at  all.  The  guests,  and  there  were  thirty  besides 
ourselves,  lay  all  around  the  big  room  on  wooden  plat- 
forms, and  talked  of  nothing  but  robbers  along  the  road 
in  both  directions.  Every  man  in  the  place  questioned 
each  of  us  individually  to  find  out  why  we  had  not  been 
looted  on  our  way  of  all  we  owned,  and  each  man  ended 
in  a  state  of  hostile  incredulity  because  we  vowed  we 
had  met  no  robbers  at  all.  They  shrugged  their  shoul- 
ders when  we  asked  for  news  of  Miss  Gloria  Vandcr- 
man. 

There  was  no  fear  of  Ibrahim  and  his  friends  decamp- 
ing in  the  night,  for  the  Zeitoonli  kept  too  careful  watch, 
waiting  on  tlicm  almost  as  thoughtfully  as  they  fetched 
and  carried  for  us,  but  never  forgetting  to  qualify  the 
service  with  a  smile  or  a  word  to  the  Turks  to  imply  that 
it  was  done  out  of  j)ity  for  brutish  helplessness. 

These  Zeitoonli  of  ours  were  more  obviously  every 
hour  men  of  a  different  disposition  to  the  meek  Armcn- 


58  JHE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

ians  of  the  places  where  the  Turkish  heel  had  pressed. 
But  for  our  armed  presence  and  the  respect  accorded 
to  the  Anglo-Saxon  they  would  have  had  the  whole 
mixed  company  down  on  them  a  dozen  times  that  night. 

"I'm  wondering  whether  the  Armenians  within  reach 
of  the  Turks  are  not  going  to  suffer  for  the  sins  of  moun- 
taineers !"  said  Fred,  as  we  warmed  ourselves  at  the  great 
open  fire  at  one  end  of  the  room. 

"Rot!"  Will  retorted.  "Sooner  or  later  men  begin  to 
dare  assert  their  love  of  freedom,  and  you  can't  blame 
'em  if  they  show  it  foolishly.  Some  folk  throw  tea  into 
harbors — some  stick  a  king's  head  on  a  pole — some  take 
it  out  for  the  present  in  fresh-kid  stuff.  These  Zeitoonli 
are  men  of  spirit,  or  I'll  eat  my  hat !" 

But  if  we  ourselves  had  not  been  men  of  spirit,  obvi- 
ously capable  of  strenuous  self-defense,  our  Zeitoonli 
would  have  found  themselves  in  an  awkv/ard  fix  that 
night. 

We  supped  oft'  yoghoiirt — the  Turkish  concoction  of 
milk — cow's,  goat's,  mare's,  ewe's  or  buffalo's  (and  the 
buffalo's  is  best) — that  is  about  the  only  food  of  the 
country  on  which  the  Anglo-Saxon  thrives.  Whatever 
else  is  fit  to  eat  the  Turks  themselves  ruin  by  their  way 
of  cooking  it.  And  we  left  before  dawn  in  the  teeth  of 
the  owner  of  the  kahvch's  warning. 

"Dangerous  robbers  all  along  the  road  1"  he  advised, 
shaking  his  head  until  the  fez  grew  insecure,  while  Fred 
counted  out  the  coins  to  pay  our  bill.  "Armenians  are 
without  compunction — bad  folk !  Ay,  you  have  weapons, 
but  so  have  they,  and  they  have  the  advantage  of  sur- 
prise! May  Allah  the  compassionate  be  witness^  I  have 
warned  you !" 

"There  will  be  more  than  warnings  to  be  witnessed !" 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON "  59 

growled  Rustum  Khan  as  he  rode  away.  "Those  others, 
who  sharpened  weapons  all  night  long,  and  spoke  of 
robbers,  have  been  waiting  three  days  at  that  kahveh  till 
the  murdering  begins  1" 

That  morning,  on  Rustum  Khan's  advice,  we  made  our 
Turkish  muleteers  ride  in  front  of  us.  The  Zeitoon  men 
marched  next,  swinging  along  with  the  hillman  stride 
that  eats  up  distance  as  the  ticked-off  seconds  eat  the 
day.  And  we  rode  last,  admiring  the  mountain  range  on 
our  left,  but  watchful  of  other  matters,  and  in  position 
to  cut  off  retreat. 

"The  last  time  a  Turk  ran  away  from  me  he  took  my 
Gladstone  bag  with  himl"  said  Fred.  "No,  only  Ar- 
menians are  dishonest.  It  was  obedience  to  his  prophet, 
who  bade  him  take  advantage  of  the  giaour — quite  a  dif- 
ferent thing!  Ibrahim's  sitting  on  my  kit,  and  I'm 
watching  him.     You  fellows  suit  yourselves!" 

We  passed  a  number  of  men  on  foot  that  morning  all 
coming  our  way,  but  no  Armenians  among  them.  How- 
ever, we  exchanged  no  wayside  gossip,  because  our  Zei- 
toonli  in  front  availed  themselves  of  privilege  and 
shouted  to  every  stranger  to  pass  at  a  good  distance. 

That  is  a  perfectly  fair  precaution  in  a  land  where 
every  one  goes  armed,  and  any  one  may  be  a  bandit.  But 
it  leads  to  aloofness.  Passers-by  made  circuits  of  a  half- 
mile  to  avoid  us,  and  when  we  spurred  our  mules  to  get 
word  with  them  they  mistook  that  for  proof  of  our  pro- 
fession and  bolted.  We  chased  three  men  for  twenty 
minutes  for  the  fun  of  it,  only  desisting  when  one  of 
them  took  cover  behind  a  bush  and  fired  a  pistol  at  us 
with  his  eyes  shut. 

"Think  of  the  lies  he'll  tell  in  the  kahveh  to-night  about 
beating  off  a  dozen  robbers  single-handed  !"  Will  laughed. 


60  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

"Let's  chase  the  next  batch,  too,  and  give  the  kahveh  gang 
an  ear-full  1" 

"I  rather  think  not,"  said  IVIonty.  "They'll  say  we're 
Armenian  criminals.    Let's  not  be  the  spark." 

He  was  right,  so  we  behaved  ourselves,  and  within  an 
hour  we  had  trouble  enough  of  another  sort.  We  began 
to  meet  dogs  as  big  as  Newfoundlands,  that  attacked  our 
unmounted  Zeitoonli,  refusing  to  be  driven  off  with 
sticks  and  stones,  and  only  retreating  a  little  way  when 
we  rode  down  on  them. 

"Shoot  the  brutes!"  Will  suggested  cheerfully,  and  I 
made  ready  to  act  on  it. 

"For  the  lord's  sake,  don't !"  warned  Monty,  riding  at 
a  huge  black  mongrel  that  was  tearing  strips  from  the 
smock  of  one  of  our  men.  The  owner  of  the  dog,  seeing 
its  victim  was  Armenian,  rather  encouraged  it  than 
otherwise,  leaning  on  a  long  pole  and  grinning  in  an  un- 
fenced  field  near  by. 

"The  consul  warned  me  they  think  more  of  a  dog's 
life  hereabouts  than  a  man's.  In  half  an  hour  there'd  be 
a  mob  on  our  trail.    Take  the  Zeitoonli  up  behind  us." 

Rustum  Khan  was  bitter  about  what  he  called  our 
squeamishness.  But  we  each  took  up  a  man  on  his 
horse's  rump,  and  the  dogs  decided  the  fun  was  no  longer 
worth  the  effort,  especially  as  we  had  riding  whips.  But 
skirmishing  with  the  dogs  and  picking  up  the  Armenians 
took  time,  so  that  our  muleteers  were  all  alone  half  a  mile 
ahead  of  us,  and  had  disappeared  where  the  road  dipped 
between  two  hillocks,  when  they  met  with  the  scare  they 
looked  for. 

They  came  thundering  back  up  the  road,  flogging  and 
flopping  on  top  of  the  loads  like  the  wooden  monkeys-on- 
a-stick  the  fakers  used  to  sell  for  a  penny  on  the  curb  in 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  61 

Fleet  Street,  glancing  behind  them  at  every  second  bound 
like  men  who  had  seen  a  thousand  ghosts. 

We  brought  them  to  a  halt  by  force,  but  take  them  on 
the  whole,  now  that  they  were  in  contact  with  us,  they 
did  not  look  so  much  frightened  as  convinced.  They  had 
made  up  their  minds  that  it  was  not  written  that  they 
should  go  any  farther,  and  that  was  all  about  it. 

"Ermenie!"  said  Ibrahim.  And  when  we  laughed  at 
that  he  stroked  his  beard  and  vowed  there  were  hundreds 
of  Armenians  ambushed  by  the  roadside  half  a  mile 
ahead.  The  others  corrected  him,  declaring  the  enemy 
were  thousands  strong. 

Finally,  Monty  rode  forward  with  me  to  investigate. 
We  passed  between  the  hillocks,  and  descended  for  an- 
other hundred  yards  along  a  gradually  sloping  track, 
when  our  mules  became  aware  of  company.  We  could 
see  nobody,  but  their  long  ears  twitched,  and  they  began 
to  make  preparations  preliminary  to  braying  recognition 
of  their  kin. 

Suddenly  Monty  detected  movement  among  the  myrtle 
bushes  about  fifty  yards  from  the  road,  and  my  mule 
confirmed  his  judgment  by  braying  like  Satan  at  a  side- 
show. The  noise  was  answered  instantly  by  a  chorus  of 
neighs  and  brays  from  an  unseen  menagerie,  whereat 
the  owners  of  the  animals  disclosed  themselves — six  men, 
all  smiling,  and  unarmed  as  far  as  we  could  tell — the  very 
same  six  gipsies  who  had  pitched  their  tent  in  the  midst 
of  the  khan  yard  at  Tarsus. 

Then  in  a  clearing  at  a  little  distance  we  saw  women 
taking  down  a  long  low  black  tent,  and  between  us  and 
them  a  considerable  herd  of  horses,  mostly  witiiout  hal- 
ters but  headed  into  a  bunch  by  gipsy  cliildrcn.  Some- 
body on  a  gray  stallion  came  loping  down   toward   us, 


62  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

leaping  low  bushes,  riding  erect  with  pluperfect  hands 
and  seat. 

"I've  seen  that  stallion  before !"  said  I. 

"And  the  girl  on  his  back  is  looking  for  somebody  wh« 
owns  her  heart !"  smiled  Monty.  "Hullo !  Are  you  the 
lucky  man  ?" 

She  reined  the  stallion  in,  and  took  a  good,  long  look 
at  us,  shading  her  eyes  with  her  hand  but  showing  daz- 
zling white  teeth  between  coral  lips.  Suddenly  the  smile 
departed,  and  a  look  of  sullen  disappointment  settled  on 
her  face,  as  she  wheeled  the  stallion  with  a  swing  of  her 
lithe  body  from  the  hips,  and  loped  away.  Never,  appar- 
ently, did  two  men  make  less  impression  on  a  maiden's 
heart.  The  six  gipsies  stood  staring  at  us  foolishly,  un- 
til one  of  them  at  last  held  his  hand  up  palm  outward. 
We  accepted  that  as  a  peace  signal. 

"Are  you  waiting  here  for- us?"  Monty  asked  in  Eng- 
lish, and  the  oldest  of  the  six — a  swarthy  little  man 
with  rather  bow  legs — thought  he  had  been  asked  his 
name. 

"Gregor  Jhaere,"  he  answered. 

For  some  vague  reason  Monty  tried  him  next  in  Arabic, 
and  then  in  Hindustanee,  but  without  result.  At  last  he 
tried  halting  Turkish,  and  the  gipsy  replied  at  once  in 
German.  As  Monty  used  to  get  two-pence  or  three-pence 
a  day  extra  when  he  was  in  the  British  army,  for  knowing 
something  of  that  tongue,  we  stood  at  once  on  common 
ground. 

"Kagig  told  us  to  wait  here  and  bring  you  to  him," 
said  Gregor  Jhaere. 

"Where  is  Kagig?"  Monty  asked,  and  the  man  smiled 
blankly — much  more  effectively  than  if  he  had  shrugged 
his  shoulders. 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  63 

"We  obey  Kagig  at  times,"  he  said,  as  if  that  admission 
settled  the  matter. 

Then  there  was  interruption.  Riistum  Khan  came 
spurring  down  the  road  with  his  pistol  holsters  unbut- 
toned and  his  saber  clattering  like  a  sutler's  pots  and 
pans,  to  see  whether  we  needed  help.  He  had  no  sooner 
reined  in  beside  us  than  I  caught  sight  of  Will,  drawn 
between  curiosity  and  fear  lest  the  muleteers  might  bolt, 
standing  in  his  stirrups  to  peer  at  us  from  the  top  of  the 
track  between  the  hillocks.  Somebody  else  caught  sight 
of  him  too. 

There  came  a  shrill  shout  from  over  where  the  women 
were  packing  up,  and  everybody  turned  to  look,  Gregor 
Jhaere  included.  As  hard  as  the  gray  stallion  could  take 
her  in  a  bee  line  toward  Will  the  daughter  of  the  davm 
with  flashing  teeth  and  blazing  eyes  was  riding  ventre  a 
terre. 

"Maga !"  Gregor  shouted  at  her,  and  then  some  unin- 
telligible gibberish.  But  she  took  no  more  notice  of  him 
than  if  he  had  been  a  crow  on  a  branch.  In  a  minute 
she  was  beside  Will,  talking  to  him,  and  from  over  the 
top  of  the  rise  we  could  hear  Fred  shouting  sarcastic  re- 
monstrance. 

"She  is  bad  !"  Gregor  announced  in  F,nglish.  It  seemed 
to  be  all  the  English  he  knew. 

"Are  you  her  father?"  Monty  asked,  and  Gregor  an- 
swered in  very  slipshod  German : 

"She  is  the  daughter  of  the  devil.  She  shall  be  soundly 
thrashed!   The  chalana!*   And  he  a  Corgio!"-\ 

Suddenly  Fred  began  to  shout  for  help  then,  and  we 
rode  back,  the  gipsies  following  and  Rustum  Khan  re- 


•  C/uj/a«(i— Slic  jockey  (a  compliment). 
^  Gorgio — Gentile  (an  insult). 


6+ '  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

maluing  on  guard  between  them  and  their  camp  with  his 
upbrushed  black  beard  bristhng  defiance  of  Asia  Minor. 
Our  Turkish  muleteers  had  decided  to  make  a  final  bolt 
for  it,  and  were  using  their  whips  on  the  Zeitoonli,  who 
dung  gamely  to  the  reins.  As  soon  as  we  got  near  enough 
to  lend  a  hand  the  Turks  resigned  themselves  with  a  kind 
of  opportune  fatalism.  The  Zeitoonli  promptly  turned 
the  tables  on  them  by  laying  hold  of  a  leg  of  each  and 
tipping  them  off  into  the  mud.  Ibrahim  showed  his 
teeth,  and  reached  for  a  hidden  weapon  as  he  lay,  but 
seemed  to  think  better  of  it.  It  looked  very  much  as  if 
those  four  Zeitoonli  knew  in  advance  exactly  what  the 
interruption  in  our  journey  meant. 

Will  was  out  of  the  running  entirely,  or  else  the  rest 
of  us  were,  depending  on  which  way  one  regarded  it. 
He  had  eyes  for  nobody  and  nothing  but  the  girl,  nor  she 
for  any  one  but  him,  and  nobody  could  rightfully  blame 
either  of  them.  Yankee  though  he  is,  Will  sat  his  mule 
in  the  western  cowboy  style,  and  he  was  wearing  a  cow- 
boy hat  tliat  set  his  youth  off  to  perfection.  She  looked 
fit  to  flirt  with  the  lord  of  the  underworld,  answering  his 
questions  in  a  way  that  would  have  made  any  fellow 
eager  to  ask  more.  Strangely  enough,  Gregor  Jhaere, 
presumably  father  of  the  girl,  appeared  to  have  lost  his 
anger  at  her  doings  and  turned  his  back. 

Fred,  smiling  mischief,  started  toward  them  to  horn 
in,  as  Will  would  have  described  it,  but  at  that  moment 
about  a  dozen  of  the  gipsy  women  came  padding  up-road, 
fostered  watchfully  by  Rustum  Khan,  who  seemed  con- 
vinced that  murder  was  intended  somehow,  somewhere. 
They  brought  along  horses  with  them — very  good  horses 
— and  Fred  prefers  a  horse  trade  to  triangular  flirtation 
on  any  day  of  any  week. 

The  gipsies  promptly  fell  to  and  off-saddled  our  loads 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  65 

under  Gregor  Jhaere's  eye,  transferring  them  to  the 
meaner-looking  among  the  beasts  the  women  had  brought, 
taking  great  care  to  drop  nothing  in  the  mud.  And  at  a 
word  from  Gregor  two  of  the  oldest  hags  came  to  lift 
us  from  our  saddles  one  by  one,  and  hold  us  suspended  In 
mid-air  while  the  saddles  were  transferred  to  better 
mounts.  But  there  is  an  indignity  in  being  held  out  of 
the  mud  by  women  that  goes  fiercely  against  the  white 
man's  grain,  and  I  kicked  until  they  set  me  back  in  the 
saddle. 

Monty'  solved  the  problem  by  riding  to  higher,  clean 
ground  near  the  roadside,  where  we  could  stand  on  firm 
grass. 

Seeing  us  dismounted,  the  gipsies  underwent  a  subtle 
mental  change  peculiar  to  all  barbarous  people.  To  the 
gipsy  and  the  cossack,  and  all  people  mainly  dependent 
on  the  horse,  to  be  mounted  is  to  signify  participation  in 
affairs.  To  be  dismounted  means  to  stand  aside  and  "let 
George  do  it." 

Gregor  Jhaere  became  a  different  man.  He  grew 
noisy  and  in  response  to  his  yelped  commands  they 
swooped  in  unprovoked  attack  on  our  unhappy  muleteers. 
Before  we  could  interfere  they  had  thrown  each  Turk 
face  downward,  our  Zcitoonli  helping,  and  were  search- 
ing them  with  swift  intruding  fingers  for  knives,  pistols, 
money. 

The  Turk  leaves  his  money  behind  when  starting  on  a 
journey  at  some  other  man's  expense ;  but  they  did  draw 
forth  a  most  astonishing  assortment  of  wca}X)ns.  They 
were  experts  in  disarmament.  Maga  Jhaere  lost  interest 
in  Will  for  a  moment,  and  pricked  her  stallion  to  a  place 
where  she  could  judge  the  assortment  better.  Without 
any  hesitation  she  ordered  one  of  the  old  women  to  pass 
up  to  her  a  mother-o'-pearl  ornamented  Smith  &  Wesson, 


66  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

which  she  promptly  hid  in  her  bosom.  Judging  by  the 
sounds  he  made,  that  pistol  was  the  apple  of  Ibrahim's 
old  eye,  but  he  had  seen  the  last  of  it.  When  we  inter- 
fered, and  he  could  get  to  her  stirrup  to  demand  it  back, 
Maga  spat  in  his  face;  which  was  all  about  it,  except 
that  Monty  made  generous  allowance  for  the  thing  when 
paying  the  reckoning  presently.  As  our  servants,  those 
Turks  were,  of  course,  entitled  to  our  protection,  and  be- 
sides that  weapon  we  had  to  pay  for  five  knives  that  were 
gone  beyond  hope  of  recovery. 

Monty  paid  our  Turks  off  (for  it  was  evident  that  even 
had  they  been  willing  they  would  not  have  been  allowed 
to  proceed  with  us  another  mile). 

Then,  as  Ibrahim  mounted  and  marshaled  his  party  in 
front  of  him,  he  forgot  manners  as  well  as  the  liberal 
payment. 

"Mashallah!"  (God  be  praised!)  he  shouted,  with  the 
slobber  of  excitement  on  his  lips  and  beard.  "Now  I  go 
to  make  Armenians  pay  for  this !  Let  the  shapkali*  too, 
avoid  me!  Ya  Ali,  ya  Mahoma,  Alahu!"  (Oh,  Ali,  oh, 
Mahomet,  God  is  God!) 

"Let's  hope  they  haven't  a  spark  of  honesty  I"  said 
Monty  cryptically,  watching  them  canter  away. 

"Why  on  earth—?" 

"Let's  hope  they  ride  back  to  the  consul  and  swear  they 
haven't  received  one  piaster  of  their  pay.  That  would 
let  him  know  we're  clear  away !" 

"Optimist!"  jeered  Will.  "That  consul's  a  Britisher. 
He'd  take  their  lie  literally,  and  deduce  we're  no  good !" 

For  the  moment  the  girl  on  the  gray  stallion  had  ridden 
away  from  Will  and  was  giving  regal  orders  to  the  mob 


'  5>»o/>fea/i— hatted  man— foreigner. 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  67 

of  women  and  shrill  children,  who  obeyed  her  as  if  well 
used  to  it.  Gregor  Jhaere  and  his  men  stood  staring  at 
us,  Gregor  shaking  his  head  as  if  our  letting  the  Turks 
go  free  had  been  a  bad  stroke  of  policy. 

"Aren't  you  afraid  to  travel  with  all  that  mob  of 
women  and  cattle  ?"  asked  Monty.  "We've  heard  of  rob- 
bers on  the  road." 

"We  are  the  robbers,  effendi!"  said  Gregor  with  an  air 
of  modesty.  The  others  smirked,  but  he  seemed  disin- 
clined to  over-insist  on  the  gulf  between  us. 

"Hear  him!"  growled  Rustum  Khan.  "A  thief,  who 
iKDasts  of  thieving  in  the  presence  of  sahibs  1  So  is  cor- 
ruption, stinking  in  the  sun  !" 

He  added  something  in  another  language  that  the  gip- 
sies understood,  for  Gregor  started  as  if  stung  and  swore 
at  him,  and  Maga  Jhaere  left  her  women-folk  to  ride 
alongside  and  glare  into  his  eyes.  They  were  enemies, 
those  two,  from  that  hour  forward.  He,  once  Hindu, 
now  Moslem,  had  no  admiration  whatever  to  begin  with 
for  unveiled  women.  And,  since  the  gipsy  claims  to  come 
from  India  and  may  therefore  be  justly  judged  by  Indian 
standards,  and  has  no  caste,  but  is  beneath  the  very  lees 
of  caste,  he  loathed  all  gipsies  with  the  prejudice  peculiar 
to  men  who  have  deserted  caste  in  theory  and  in  self-pro- 
tection claim  themselves  above  it.  It  was  a  case  of  height 
flcspising  deep  in  cither  instance,  she  as  sure  of  her  su- 
periority as  he  of  his. 

There  might  have  been  immediate  trouble  if  Monty  had 
not  taken  his  new,  restless,  fresh  horse  by  the  mane  and 
swung  into  the  saddle. 

"Forward,  Rustum  Khan!"  he  ordered.  "Ride  ahead 
and  let  those  keai  eyes  of  yours  keep  us  out  of  traps!" 

The  Rajput  obeyed,  but  as  he  passed  Will  he  checked 


68  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

his  mare  a  moment,  and  waitings  until  Will's  blue  eyes 
met  his  he  raised  a  warning  finger, 

*'Kuhadar,  sahib  I" 

Then  he  rode  on,  like  a  man  who  has  done  his  duty. 

"What  the  devil  does  he  mean  ?"  demanded  Will. 

"Kuhadar  means,  'Take  care'!"  said  Monty.  "Come 
on,  what  are  we  waiting  for?" 

That  was  the  beginning,  too,  of  Will's  feud  with  the 
Rajput,  neither  so  remorseless  nor  so  sudden  as  the 
woman's,  because  he  had  a  different  code  to  guide  him 
and  also  had  to  convince  himself  that  a  quarrel  with  a 
man  of  color  was  compatible  with  Yankee  dignity.  We 
could  have  wished  them  all  three  either  friends,  or  else 
a  thousand  miles  apart  two  hundred  times  before  the 
journey  ended. 

As  we  rode  forward  with  even  our  Zeitoonli  mounted 
now  on  strong  mules,  Maga  Jhaere  sat  her  stallion  beside 
Will  with  an  air  of  owning  him.  She  was  likely  a  safer 
friend  than  enemy,  and  we  did  nothing  to  interfere. 
Monty  pressed  forward.    Fred  and  I  fell  to  the  rear. 

"Haide!"*  shouted  Gregor  Jhaere,  and  all  the  motley 
swarm  of  women  and  children  caught  themselves  mounts 
— some  already  loaded  with  the  gipsy  baggage,  some  with 
saddles,  some  without,  some  with  grass  halters  for  bri- 
dles. In  another  minute  Fred  and  I  were  riding  sur- 
rounded by  a  smelly  sv/arm  of  them,  he  with  his  fingers 
already  on  the  keys  of  his  beloved  concertina,  but  I  less 
enamored  than  he  of  the  company. 

Women  and  children,  loaded,  loose  and  led  horses  were 
all  mixed  together  in  unsortable  confusion,  the  two  oldest 
hags  in  the  world  trusting  themselves  on  sorry,  lame 


*Haidc! — Turkish,  "Come  on!" 


,THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  6? 

nags  between  Fred  and  me  as  if  proximity  to  us  would 
solve  the  very  riddle  of  the  gipsy  race.  And  last  of  all 
came  a  pack  of  great  scrawny  dogs  that  bayed  behind  us 
hungrily,  following  for  an  hour  until  hope  of  plunder 
vanished. 

"That  little  she-devil  who  has  taken  a  fancy  to  Will/' 
said  Fred  with  a  grin,  "is  capable  of  more  atrocities  than 
all  the  Turks  between  here  and  Stamboul !  She  looks  to 
me  like  Santanita,  Cleopatra,  Salome,  Caesar's  wnfe,  and 
all  the  Borgia  ladies  rolled  in  one.  There's  something 
added,  though,  that  they  lacked." 

"Youth,"  said  I.  "Beauty.  Athletic  grace.  Sinuous 
charm." 

"No,  probably  they  all  had  all  those." 

"Then  horsemanship." 

"Perhaps.    Didn't  Cleopatra  ride?" 

"Then  what  ?"  said  I,  puzzled. 

"Indiscretion !"  he  answered,  jerking  loose  the  catch 
of  his  infernal  instrument. 

"Don't  be  afraid,  old  ladies,"  he  said,  glancing  at  the 
harridans  between  us.    "I'm  only  going  to  sing!" 

He  makes  up  nearly  all  of  his  songs,  and  some  of  them, 
although  irreverent,  are  not  without  peculiar  merit;  but 
that  was  one  of  his  worst  ones. 

The  preachers  prate  of  fallen  man 
And  choirs  repeat  the  chant. 
While  unco'  guid  with  unction  urge 
depression  of  the  joys  that  surge. 
And  jail  for  those  who  can't. 
The  poor  fleludcd  duds  forget 
That  something  drew  the  sting 
When  Adam  tiptoed  to  his  fall, 
And  made  it  hardly  hurt  at  all. 
Of  Mother  Eve  I  sing! 


70  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 


CHORUS 

Oh,  T^Iother  Eve,  dear  Alothcr  Eve, 
The  generations  come  and  go, 
But  daughter  Eve's  as  Hve  as  you 
Were  back  in  Eden  years  ago ! 

Oh,  hell's  not  hell  with  Eve  to  tell 

Again  the  ancient  tale, 

But  Eden's  grassy  ways  and  bowers 

Deprived  of  Eve  to  ease  the  hours 

Would  very  soon  grow  stale ! 

Red  cherry  lips  that  leap  to  laugh, 

And  chic  and  flick  and  flair 

Can  make  black  white  for  any  one — 

The  task  of  Sisyphus  good  fun! 

So  what  should  Adam  care ! 

CHORUS 

Oh,  daughter  Eve,  dear  daughter  Eve, 
The  tribulations  go  and  come, 
But  no  adventure's  ever  tame 
With  you  to  make  surprises  hum! 


THE  PATTERAN 

(I) 

Aye-yee — /  see — a  cloud  afloat  in  air  af  amethyst 

I  knozv  its  raciyig  shadozu  falls  on  banks  of  gold 

Where  rain-rejoicing  gravel  zvarms  the  feeding  roots 

And  smells  more  n'onderful  than  zvine.  I  knozv  the  shoots 

Of  myrtle  and  of  asphodel  nozv  stir  the  mould 

Where  zvee  cool  noses  sniff  the  early  mist. 

Aye-yee — the  sparkle  of  the  little  springs  I  see 

That  tinkle  as  they  hunt  the  thirsty  rill. 

I  knozv  the  cohzvehs  glitter  zvith  the  jczveled  dew. 

I  see  a  fleck  of  brozwi — it  was  a  skylark  flezv 

To  scatter  bursting  music,  and  the  zvorld  is  still 

To  listen.  Ah,  my  heart  is  bursting  too — Aye-yee! 

Chorus: 

(It  begins  zvith  a  szvinging  crash,  and  fades  azvay.) 

Aye-yee,  aye-yah — the  kites  see  far 
(But  also  to  the  foxes  viezvs  unfold) — 
No  hour  alike,  no  places  tzvice  the  same. 
Nor  any  track  to  shozv  zvhere  morning  came, 
Nor  any  footprint  in  the  moistened  mould 
To  tell  zi'ho  covered  up  the  morning  star. 

A  \e-yee — a  ve-yaJi ! 

Aye-yee — /  see — new  rushes  crozvdlng  upzvards  in  the 

mere 
Where,  gold  and  zuliite.  the  zcild  duck  preens  himself 
Safe  hidden  till  the  sun-drazvn,  litigcritig  mists  melt. 
I  know  the  secret  den  zdiere  bruin  dzvelt. 


/  see  hun  now  sun-hasking  on  a  shelf 
Of  7(.'i]idy  rock.  He  looks  dozvn  on  the  deer. 
Who  flit  like  flowing  light  from  rock  to  tree 
And  stand  with  ears  alert  before  they  drink. 
I  knoto  a  pool  of  purple  rimmed  with  white 
Where  wild-fowl,  tvarming  for  the  morning  flight. 
Wait  clustering  and  crying  on  the  brink. 
And  I  knoiv  hillsides  ivhere  the  partridge  breeds.   Aye- 
yee! 

Chorus: 

Aye-yee,  aye-yah — the  kites  see  far 

(But  also  to  the  ozvls  the  visions  change) — • 

No  dawn  is  like  the  next,  and  nothing  sings 

Of  sameness — very  hours  have  zvings 

And  leave  no  zvord  of  zvhose  hand  touched  the  range 

Of  Kara  Dagh  with  opal  and  with  cinnabar. 

Aye-yee,  aye-yah! 

(3) 

Aye-yee — /  see — nezv  distances  beyond  a  blue  hori::on 

flung. 
I  laugh,  because  the  people  under  roofs  believe 
That  last  year's  zuays  are  this!  No  roads  are  old! 
New  grass  has  grozvn!  All  pools  and  rivers  hold 
New  zvater!  And  the  feathered  singers  weave 
Nezv  nests,  forgetting  zvhere  the  old  ones  hung! 
Aye-yah — the  muddy  highzvay  sticks  and  clings. 
But  I  see  in  the  open  pastures  new 
Unknown  to  busne^  in  the  houses  pent! 
I  hear  the  new,  warm  raindrops  drumming  on  the  tent, 
J  feel  already  on  my  feet  delicious  dezv, 
J  see  the  trail  out  flung!  And  oh,  my  heart  has  wings! 

*  Busne — Gipsy  word — Gentile,  or  non-gipsy. 


Choms: 

Aye-yee,  aye-yah — the  kites  see  far 
(But  also  on  the  road  the  visions  pass)— 
The  universe  reflected  in  a  zvayside  pool, 
A  tinkling  symphony  -where  seeping  waters  drool. 
The  dance,  more  gay  than  laughter,  of  the  ivmd-sxvept 
^         grass — 
Oh  onward!  On  to  zvhere  the  visions  are! 

'  Aye-yee — aye-yah! 


CHAPTER  FIVE 
"Effcndi,  that  is  the  heart  of  Armenia  burning." 

RUSSIA,  Rumania,  Bulgaria,  Bohemia,  Persia,  Ar- 
^  menia  were  all  one  hunting-ground  to  the  troupe 
we  rode  with.  Even  the  children  seemed  to  have  a  smat- 
tering of  most  of  the  tongues  men  speak  in  those  in- 
triguing lands.  Will  and  the  girl  beside  him  conversed 
in  German,  but  the  old  hag  nearest  me  would  not  confess 
acquaintance  with  any  language  I  knew.  Again  and  again 
I  tried  her,  but  she  always  shook  her  head. 

Fred,  with  his  ready  gift  of  tongues,  attempted  con- 
versation with  ten  or  a  dozen  of  them,  but  whichever 
language  he  used  in  turn  appeared  to  be  the  only  one 
which  that  particular  individual  did  not  know.  All  he 
got  in  reply  was  grins,  and  awkward  silence,  and  shrugs 
of  the  shoulders  in  Gregor's  direction,  implying  that  the 
head  of  the  firm  did  the  talking  with  strangers.  But 
Gregor  rode  alone  with  Monty,  out  of  ear-shot, 

IMaga  ( for  so  they  all  called  her)  flirted  with  Will  out- 
rageously, if  that  is  flirting  that  proclaims  conquest  from 
the  start,  and  sets  flashing  white  teeth  in  defiance  of  all 
intruders.  Even  the  little  children  had  hidden  weapons, 
but  IVIaga  was  better  armed  than  any  one,  and  she  thrust 
the  new  mother-o'-pearl-plated  acquisition  in  the  face  of 
one  of  the  men  who  dared  drive  his  horse  between  hers 
and  Will's.  That  not  serving  more  than  to  amuse  him, 
she  slapped  him  three  times  back-handed  across  the  face, 
and  thrusting  the  pistol  back  into  her  bosom,  drew  a 
knife.    He  seemed  in  no  doubt  of  her  willingness  to  use 

74 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  75 

the  steel,  and  backed  his  horse  away,  followed  by  lan- 
guage from  her  like  forked  lightning  that  disturbed  him 
more  than  the  threatening  weapon.  Gipsies  are  great 
believers  in  the  efficiency  of  a  curse. 

Nothing  could  be  further  from  the  mark  than  to  say 
that  Will  tried  to  take  advantage  of  Alaga's  youth  and 
savagery.  Fred  and  I  had  shared  a  dozen  lively  adven- 
tures with  him  without  more  than  beginning  yet  to  plumb 
the  depths  of  his  respect  for  Woman.  Only  an  American 
in  all  the  world  knows  how  to  meet  Young  Woman  eye 
to  eye  with  totally  unpatronizing  frankness,  and  he  was 
without  guile  in  the  matter.  But  not  so  she.  W^e  did  not 
know  whether  or  not  she  w'as  Gregor  Jhaere's  daughter; 
whether  or  not  she  was  truly  the  gipsy  that  she  hardly 
seemed.  But  she  was  certainly  daughter  of  the  Near  East 
that  does  not  understand  a  state  of  peace  between  the 
sexes.  There  was  nothing  lawful  in  her  attitude,  nor  as 
much  as  the  sus])icion  that  Will  might  be  merely  chival- 
rous. 

"America's  due  for  sex-enlightenment !"  said  I. 

"Warn  him  if  you  like,"  Fred  laughed,  "and  then  steer 
clear !   Our  America  is  proud  besides  imprudent !" 

Fred  off-shouldered  all  responsibility  and  forestalled 
anxiety  on  any  one's  account  by  playing  tunes,  stamped- 
ing the  whole  cavalcade  more  than  once  because  the 
horses  were  unused  to  his  clanging  concertina,  but  pro- 
ducing such  high  s])irits  that  it  became  a  joke  to  have  to 
dismount  in  the  mud  and  replace  the  load  on  some  mule 
who  had  expressed  enjoyment  of  the  tunc  by  rolling  in 
slime,  or  by  trying  to  kick  clouds  out  of  the  sky. 

And  strangely  enough  he  l)rought  about  the  very  last 
thing  he  intended  with  his  music — stopped  the  flirtation's 
immediate  progress.    Maga  seemed  to  take  to  Fred's  un- 


76  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

chastened  harmony  with  all  the  wildness  that  possessed 
her.  Some  chord  he  struck,  or  hkeher,  some  abandoned 
succession  of  them  touched  off  her  magazine  of  poetry. 
And  so  she  sang. 

The  only  infinitely  gorgeous  songs  I  ever  listened  to 
were  Maga's.  Almighty  God,  who  made  them,  only  really 
knows  what  country  the  gipsies  originally  came  from,  but 
there  is  not  a  land  that  has  not  felt  their  feet,  nor  a  sor- 
row they  have  not  witnessed.  Away  back  in  the  womb  of 
time  there  was  planted  in  them  a  rare  gift  of  seeing  what 
the  rest  of  us  can  only  sometimes  hear,  and  of  hearing 
what  only  very  few  from  the  world  that  lives  in  houses 
can  do  more  than  vaguely  feel  when  at  the  peak  of  high 
emotion.  The  gipsies  do  not  understand  what  they  see, 
and  hear,  and  feel;  but  they  are  aware  of  infinities  too 
intimate  for  ordinary  speech.  And  it  was  given  to  Maga 
to  sing  of  all  that,  with  a  voice  tuned  like  a  waterfall's 
for  open  sky,  and  trees,  and  distances — not  very  loud, 
but  far-carrying,  and  flattened  in  quarter-tones  where  it 
touched  the  infinite. 

Fred  very  soon  ceased  from  braying  with  his  bellowed 
instrument.  Her  songs  were  too  wild  for  accompaniment 
— interminable  stanzas  of  unequal  length,  with  a  refrain 
at  the  end  of  each  that  rose  through  a  thousand  emotions 
to  a  crash  of  ecstasy,  and  then  died  away  to  dreaminess, 
coming  to  an  end  on  an  unfinished  rising  scale. 

All  the  gipsies  and  our  Zeitoonli  and  Rustum  Khan's 
lean  servant  joined  in  the  refrains,  so  that  we  trotted 
along  under  the  snow-tipped  fangs  of  the  Kara  Dagh 
oblivious  of  the  passage  of  time,  but  very  keenly  con- 
scious of  touch  with  a  realm  of  life  whose  existence  hith- 
erto we  had  only  vaguely  guessed  at. 

The  animals  refused  to  weary  while  that  singing  testi- 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  77 

fied  of  tireless  harmonies,  as  fresh  yet  as  on  the  day  when 
the  worlds  were  born.  We  rattled  forward,  on  and  up- 
ward, as  if  the  panorama  were  unrolling  and  we  were 
the  static  point,  getting  out  of  nobody's  way  for  the  best 
reason  in  the  world — that  everybody  hid  at  first  sight  or 
sound  of  us,  except  when  we  passed  near  villages,  and 
then  the  great  fierce-fanged  curs  chased  and  bayed  be- 
hind us  in  short-winded  fury. 

"The  dogs  bark,"  quoted  Fred  serenely,  "but  the  cara- 
van moves  on !" 

An  hour  before  dark  we  swung  round  a  long  irregular 
spur  of  the  hills  that  made  a  wide  bend  in  the  road,  and 
halted  at  a  lonely  kahveh — a  wind-swept  ruin  of  a  place, 
the  wall  of  whose  upper  story  was  patched  with  ancient 
sacking,  but  whose  owner  came  out  and  smiled  so  warmly 
on  us  that  we  overlooked  the  inhospitable  frown  of  his 
unplastered  walls,  hoping  that  his  smile  and  the  profun- 
dity of  his  salaams  might  prove  prophetic  of  comfort  and 
cleanliness  within.  Vain  hope! 

Maga  left  Will's  side  then,  for  there  was  iron- 
embedded  custom  to  be  observed  about  this  matter  of 
entering  a  road-house.  In  that  land  superstition  gov- 
erns just  as  fiercely  as  the  rest  those  who  make  mock  of 
the  rule-of-rod  religions,  and  there  is  no  man  or  woman 
free  to  behave  as  he  or  .she  sees  fit.  Every  one  drew  aside 
from  Monty,  and  he  strode  in  alone  through  the  split-and- 
mended  door,  we  following  next,  and  the  gipsies  with 
their  animals  clattered  noisily  behind  us.  The  women 
entered  last,  behind  the  last  loaded  mule,  and  Maga  the 
very  last  of  all,  because  she  was  the  most  beautiful,  and 
beauty  might  bring  in  the  devil  with  it  only  that  the  devil 
is  too  proud  to  dawdle  behind  the  old  hags  and  the 
horses. 


78  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

We  found  ourselves  in  an  oblong  room,  with  stalls  and 
a  sort  of  pound  for  animals  at  one  end  and  an  enormous 
raised  stone  fireplace  at  the  other.  Wooden  platforms 
for  the  use  of  guests  faced  each  other  down  the  two  long 
sides,  and  the  only  promise  of  better  than  usual  comfort 
lay  in  the  piles  of  firewood  waiting  for  whoever  felt  rich 
and  generous  enough  to  foot  the  bill  for  a  quantity. 

But  an  agreeable  surprise  made  us  feel  at  home  before 
ever  the  fire  leaped  up  to  warm  the  creases  out  of  saddle- 
weary  limbs.  We  had  given  up  thinking  of  Kagig,  not 
that  we  despaired  of  him,  but  the  gipsies,  and  especially 
Maga,  had  replaced  his  romantic  interest  for  the  moment 
-with  their  own.  Now  all  the  man's  own  exciting  claim 
on  the  imagination  returned  in  full  flood,  as  he  arose 
leisurely  from  a  pile  of  skins  and  blankets  near  the  hearth 
to  greet  Monty,  and  shouted  with  the  manner  of  a  chief- 
tain for  fuel  to  be  piled  on  instantly. 

"For  a  great  man  comes !"  he  announced  to  the  rafters. 
And  the  kahveh  servants,  seven  sons  of  the  owner  of  the 
place,  were  swift  and  abject  in  the  matter  of  obeisance. 
They  were  Turks.  All  Turks  are  demonstrative  in  adora- 
tion of  whoever  is  reputed  great.  Monty  ignored  them, 
and  Kagig  came  down  the  length  of  the  room  to  offer 
him  a  hand  on  terms  of  blunt  equality. 

"Lord  Montdidier,"  he  said,  mispronouncing  the  word 
astonishingly,  "this  is  the  furthest  limit  of  my  kingdom 
yet.  Kindly  be  welcome  !" 

"Your  kingdom?"  said  Monty,  shaking  hands,  but  not 
quite  accepting  the  position  of  blood-equal.  He  was  big- 
ger and  better  looking  than  Kagig,  and  there  was  no  mis- 
taking which  was  the  abler  man,  even  at  that  first  com- 
parison, with  Kagig  intentionally  making  the  most  of  a 
dramatic  situation.  ^ 


■^ 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  79 

Kagig  laughed,  not  the  least  nervously. 

"Mirsa"  he  said  in  Persian,  "duzd  ne  giriftah  padshah 
ast!"  (Prince,  the  uncaught  thief  is  king.) 

He  was  wearing  a  kalpak — the  head-gear  of  the  cos- 
sack,  which  would  make  a  high  priest  look  outlawed,  and 
a  shaggy  goat-skin  coat  that  had  seen  more  than  one  cam- 
paign. Unmistakably  the  garment  had  been  slit  by  bul- 
lets, and  repaired  by  fingers  more  enthusiastic  than  adept. 
There  was  a  pride  of  poverty  about  him  that  did  not  gibe 
well  with  his  boast  of  being  a  robber. 

"That's  the  first  gink  we've  met  in  this  land  who  didn't 
claim  to  be  something  better  than  he  looked !"  Will  whis- 
pered. 

"Hopeless,  I  suppose !"  Fred  answered.  "Never  mind. 
I  like  the  man." 

It  was  evident  that  Monty  liked  him,  too,  for  all  his 
schooled  reserve.  Kagig  ordered  one  of  the  owner's  sons 
to  sweep  a  place  near  the  fire,  and  there  he  superintended 
the  spreading  of  Monty's  blankets,  close  enough  to  his 
own  assorted  heap  for  conversation  without  mutual  of- 
fense. Will  cleaned  for  himself  a  section  of  the  opposite 
end  of  the  platform,  and  Fred  and  I  spread  our  blankets 
next  to  his.  That  left  Rustum  Khan  in  a  quandary.  He 
stood  irresolute  for  a  minute,  eying  first  the  gipsies,  who 
had  stalled  most  of  their  animals  and  were  beginning  to 
occupy  the  platform  on  the  other  side ;  then  considering 
the  wide  gap  between  me  and  Monty.  The  dark-skinned 
man  of  breeding  is  far  more  bitterly  conscious  of  the 
color-line  than  any  white  knows  how  to  be. 

We  watched,  disinclined  to  do  the  choosing  for  him, 
racial  instinct  uppermost.  Rustum  Khan  strolled  back 
to  where  his  mare  was  being  cleaned  by  the  lean  Arme- 
nian servant,  gave  the  boy  a  few  curt  orders,  and  there 


80  THE  F.YE  OF  ZEITOON 

among  the  shadows  made  his  mind  up.  He  returned  and 
stood  before  Monty,  Kagig  eying  him  with  something 
less  than  amiabihty.  He  pointed  toward  the  ample  room 
remaining  between  Monty  and  me. 

"Will  the  sahib  permit?  My  -kaat  (honor)  is  in  ques- 
tion." 

"I::.zat  be  damned !"  Monty  answered. 

Rustum  Khan  colored  darkly. 

"I  shared  a  tent  with  you  once  on  campaign,  sahib,  in 
the  days  before — the  good  days  before — those  old  days 
when—" 

"When  you  and  I  served  one  Raj,  eh?  I  remember," 
IMonty  answered.  "I  remember  it  was  your  tent,  Rustum 
Khan.  Unless  memory  plays  tricks  with  me,  the  Orakzai 
Pathans  had  burned  mine,  and  I  had  my  choice  between 
sharing  yours  or  sleeping  in  the  rain." 

"Truly,  hiLZoor." 

"1  don't  recollect  that  I  mouthed  very  much  about 
honor  on  that  occasion.  If  anybody's  honor  was  in  ques- 
tion then,  I  fancy  it  was  yours.  I  might  have  inconve- 
nienced myself,  and  dishonored  you,  I  suppose,  by  sleep- 
ing in  the  wet.  You  can  dishonor  the  lot  of  us  now,  if 
you  care  to,  by — oh,  tommyrot !  Tell  your  man  to  put 
your  blankets  in  the  only  empty  place,  and  behave  like  a 
man  of  sense !" 

"But,  hucoor—" 

Monty  dismissed  the  subject  with  a  motion  of  his  hand, 
and  turned  to  talk  with  Kagig,  who  shouted  for  yoghourt 
to  be  brought  at  once ;  and  that  set  the  sons  of  the  owner 
of  the  place  to  hurrying  in  great  style.  The  owner  him- 
self was  a  true  Turk.  He  had  subsided  into  a  state  of 
kaif  already  over  on  the  far  side  of  the  fire,  day-dream- 
ing about   only  Allah  knew   what  rhapsodies.    But  the 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  81 

Turks  intermarry  with  the  subject  races  much  more  thor- 
oughly than  they  do  anything  else,  and  his  sons  did  not 
resemble  him.  They  were  active  young  men,  rather  noisy 
in  their  robust  desire  to  be  of  use. 

The  gipsies,  with  Gregor  Jhaere  nearest  to  the  owner 
of  the  kahveh  and  the  fireplace,  occupied  the  whole  long 
platform  on  the  other  side,  each  with  his  women  around 
him — except  that  I  noticed  that  I\Iaga  avoided  all  the 
men,  and  made  herself  a  blanket  nest  in  deep  shadow 
almost  within  reach  of  a  mule's  heels  at  the  far  end.  I 
believed  at  the  moment  that  she  chose  that  position  so  as 
to  be  near  to  Will,  but  changed  my  mind  later.  Several 
times  Gregor  shouted  for  her,  and  she  made  no  answer. 

The  place  had  no  other  occupants.  Either  we  were  the 
only  travelers  on  that  road  that  night  or,  as  seemed  more 
likely,  Kagig  had  exercised  authority  and  purged  the 
kahveh  of  other  guests.  Certainly  our  coming  had  been 
expected,  for  there  was  very  good  yoghourt  in  ample 
quantity,  and  other  food  besides — meat,  bread,  cheese, 
vegetables. 

When  we  had  all  eaten,  and  lay  back  against  the  stone 
wall  looking  at  the  fire,  with  great  fanged  shadows  danc- 
ing up  and  down  that  made  the  scene  one  of  almost  per- 
fect savagery,  Gregor  called  again  for  Maga.  Again  she 
did  not  answer  him.  So  he  rose  from  his  place  and 
reached  for  a  rawhide  whip. 

"I  said  she  shall  be  thrashed !"  he  snarled  in  Turkish, 
and  he  made  the  whip  crack  three  times  like  sudden 
jjistol-shots.  Will  did  not  catch  the  words,  and  nn'ght  not 
have  understood  them  in  any  case,  but  Rustum  Khan, 
beside  me,  both  heard  and  understood. 

"Atcha!"  he  grunted.  "Now  we  shall  see  a  kind  of 
happenings.   That  girl  is  not  a  true  gipsy,  or  else  my  eyes 


82  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

lie  to  me.  They  stole  her,  or  adopted  her.  She  lacks  their 
instincts.  The  gitanos,  as  they  call  their  girls,  are  ex- 
pected to  have  aversion  to  white  men.  They  are  allowed 
to  lure  a  white  man  to  his  ruin,  but  not  to  make  hot  love 
to  him.  She  has  offended  against  the  gipsy  law.  The 
attaman^  must  punish.  Watch  the  women.  They  take  it 
all  as  a  matter  of  course." 

"I\Iaga !"  thundered  Gregor  Jhaere,  cracking  the  great 
whip  again.  I  thought  that  Kagig  looked  a  trifle  restless, 
but  nobody  else  went  so  far  as  to  exhibit  interest,  except 
that  the  old  Turk  by  the  fire  emerged  far  enough  out  of 
kaif  to  open  one  eye,  like  a  sly  cat's. 

The  attaman  shouted  again,  and  this  time  Maga 
mocked  him.  So  he  strode  down  the  room  in  a  rage  to 
enforce  his  authority,  and  dragged  her  out  of  the  shadow 
by  an  arm,  sending  her  whirling  to  the  center  of  the 
floor.  She  did  not  lose  her  feet,  but  spun  and  came  to  a 
stand,  and  waited,  proud  as  Satanita  while  he  drew  the 
whip  slovv'ly  back  with  studied  cruelty.  The  old  Turk 
opened  both  eyes. 

Nothing  is  more  certain  than  that  none  of  us  would 
have  permitted  the  girl  to  be  thrashed.  I  doubt  if  even 
Rustum  Khan,  no  admirer  of  gipsies  or  unveiled  women, 
would  have  tolerated  one  blow.  But  Will  was  nearest, 
and  he  is  most  amazing  quick  when  his  nervous  New 
England  temper  is  aroused.  He  had  the  whip  out  of 
Gregor's  hand,  and  stood  on  guard  between  him  and  the 
girl  before  one  of  us  had  time  to  move.  The  old  Turk 
closed  his  eyes  again,  and  sighed  resignedly. 

"Our  preux  chevalier — preux  but  damned  imprudent  !'* 
murmured  Fred.    "Let's  hope  there's  a  gipsy  here  with 


Attaman,  gipsy  headman. 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  83 

guts  enough  to  fight  for  title  to  the  girl.  It  looks  to  me 
as  if  Will  has  claimed  her  hy  pattcrajv^  law.  The  only 
man  with  right  to  say  whether  or  not  a  woman  shall  be 
tlirashed  is  her  owner.    Once  that  right  is  established — " 

"Touch  her  and  Ell  break  your  neck !"  warned  Will, 
without  undue  emotion,  but  truthfully  beyond  a  shadow 
of  a  doubt. 

The  gipsy  stood  still,  simmering,  and  taking  the  meas- 
ure of  the  capable  American  muscles  interposed  between 
him  and  his  legal  prey.  Every  gipsy  eye  in  the  room  was 
on  him,  and  it  was  perfectly  obvious  that  whatever  the 
eventual  solution  of  the  impasse,  the  one  thing  he  could 
not  do  was  retreat.  We  were  fewer  in  number,  but  much 
better  armed  than  the  gipsy  party,  so  that  it  was  unlikely 
they  would  rally  to  their  man's  aid.  Kagig  was  an  un- 
known quantity,  but  except  that  his  black  eyes  glittered 
rather  more  brightly  than  usual  he  made  no  sign ;  and  we 
kept  quiet  because  we  did  not  want  to  start  a  free-for-all 
fight.  Will  was  quite  able  to  take  care  of  any  single  oppo- 
nent, and  would  have  resented  aid. 

Suddenly,  however,  Gregor  Jhaere  reached  inside  his 
shirt.  Maga  screamed.  Rustum  Khan  beside  me  swore 
a  rumbling  Rajput  oath,  and  we  all  four  leapt  to  our 
feet.  Maga  drew  no  weapon,  although  she  certainly  had 
both  dagger  an(^  pistol  handy.  Instead,  she  glanced  to- 
ward Kagig,  who,  strangely  enough,  was  lolling  on  his 
blankets  as  if  nothing  in  the  world  could  interest  him 
less.  The  glance  took  as  swift  cfTcct  as  an  electric  spark 
that  fires  a  mine.   He  stiffened  instantly. 

"Yok!"  he  shouted,  and  at  once  there  ceased  to  be  even 
a  symptom  of  impending  trouble.    Yok  means  merely  no 

*  Paltcran,  a  gipsy  word :  trail. 


84  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

in  Turkish,  but  it  conveyed  enough  to  Gregor  to  send  him 
back  to  his  place  between  his  women  and  the  Turk  un- 
ashamedly obedient,  leaving  Maga  standing  beside  Will. 
Maga  did  not  glance  again  at  Kagig,  for  I  watched  in- 
tently. There  was  simply  no  understanding  the  relation- 
ship, although  Fred  affected  his  usual  all-comprehensive 
wisdom, 

"Another  claimant  to  the  title !"  he  said.  "A  fight  be- 
tween Will  and  Kagig  for  that  woman  ought  to  be  amus- 
ing, if  only  Will  weren't  a  friend  of  mine.  Watch  Amer- 
ica challenge  him !" 

But  Will  did  nothing  of  the  kind.  He  smiled  at  Maga, 
offered  her  a  cigarette,  which  she  refused,  and  returned 
to  his  place  beyond  Fred,  leaving  her  standing  there,  as 
lovely  in  the  glowing  firelight  as  the  spirit  of  bygone 
romance.  At  that  Kagig  shouted  suddenly  for  fuel,  and 
three  of  the  Turk's  seven  hoydens  ran  to  heap  it  on. 

Instantly  the  leaping  flames  transformed  the  great, 
uncomfortable,  draughty  barn  into  a  hall  of  gorgeous 
color  and  shadows  without  limit.  There  was  no  other 
illumination,  except  for  the  glow  here  and  there  of  pipes 
and  cigarettes,  or  matches  flaring  for  a  moment.  Bar- 
ring the  tobacco,  we  lay  like  a  baron's  men-at-arms  in 
Europe  of  the  Middle  Ages,  with  a  captive  woman  to 
make  sport  with  in  the  midst,  only  rather  too  self-reliant 
for  the  picture. 

Feeling  himself  warm,  and  rested,  and  full  enough  of 
food,  Fred  flung  a  cigarette  away  and  reached  for  his 
inseparable  concertina.  And  with  his  eyes  on  the  great 
smoked  beams  that  now  glowed  gold  and  crimson  in  the 
firelight,  he  grew  inspired  and  made  his  nearest  to  sweet 
music.   It  was  perfectly  in  place — simple  as  the  savagery 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  85 

that  framed  us — Fred's  way  of  saying  grace  for  shelter, 
and  adventure,  and  a  meal.  He  passed  from  Annie 
Laurie  to  Suwannee  River,  and  all  but  made  Will  cry. 

During  two — three — four  tunes  Maga  stood  motion- 
less in  the  midst  of  us,  hands  on  her  hips,  with  the  fire- 
light playing  on  her  face,  until  at  last  Fred  changed  the 
nature  of  the  music  and  seemed  to  be  trying  to  recall 
fragments  of  the  song  she  had  sung  that  afternoon.  Pres- 
ently he  came  close  to  achievement,  playing  a  few  bars 
over  and  over,  and  leading  on  from  those  into  improviza- 
tion  near  enough  to  the  real  thing  to  be  quite  recognizable. 

Music  is  the  sure  key  to  the  gipsy  heart,  and  Fred  un- 
locked it.  The  men  and  women,  and  the  little  sleepy 
children  on  the  long  wooden  platform  opposite  began  to 
sway  and  swing  in  rhythm.  Fred  divined  what  was  com- 
ing, and  played  louder,  wilder,  lawlessly.  And  Maga  did 
an  astonishing  thing.  She  sat  down  on  the  floor  and 
pulled  her  shoes  and  stockings  off,  as  unself-consciously 
as  if  she  were  alone. 

Then  Fred  began  the  tune  again  from  the  beginning, 
and  he  had  it  at  his  finger-ends  by  then.  He  made  the 
rafters  ring.  And  without  a  word  Maga  kicked  the  shoes 
and  stockings  into  a  corner,  flung  her  outer,  woolen  up- 
per-garment after  them,  and  began  to  dance. 

There  is  a  time  when  any  of  us  does  his  best.  Money 
— marriage — praise — applause  (which  is  totally  another 
thing  than  praise,  and  more  like  whisky  in  its  workings) 
— ambition — prayer — there  is  a  key  to  the  heart  of  each 
of  us  that  can  unlock  the  flood-tides  of  emotion  and 
carry  us  nolens  volcns  to  the  peaks  of  possibility.  Either 
\\'ill,  or  else  Fred's  music,  or  the  setting,  or  all  three  un- 
locked her  gifts  that  night.    She  danced  like  a  moth  in  a 


86  THE  £YE  OF  ZEITOON 

flame — a  wandering  woman  in  the  fire  unquenchable  that 
burns  convention  out  of  gipsy  hearts,  and  makes  the 
patteran — the  trail — the  only  way  worth  while. 

Opposite,  the  gipsies  sprawled  in  silence  on  their  plat- 
form, breathing  a  little  deeper  when  deepest  approval 
stirred  them,  a  little  more  quickly  when  her  Muse  took 
hold  of  Maga  and  thrilled  her  to  expression  of  the 
thoughts  unknown  to  people  of  the  dinning  walls  and 
streets. 

We  four  leaned  back  against  our  wall  in  a  sort  of  silent 
revelry,  Fred  alone  moving,  making  his  beloved  instru- 
ment charm  wisely,  calling  to  her  just  enough  to  keep  a 
link,  as  it  were,  through  which  her  imagery  might  appeal 
to  ours.  Some  sort  of  mental  bridge  between  her  tameless 
paganism  and  our  twentieth-century  twilight  there  had  to 
be,  or  we  never  could  have  sensed  her  meaning.  The 
concertina's  wailings,  mid-way  between  her  intelligence 
and  ours,  served  well  enough. 

My  own  chief  feeling  was  of  exultation,  crowing  over 
the  hooded  city-folk,  who  think  that  drama  and  the  tricks 
of  colored  light  and  shade  have  led  them  to  a  glimpse  of 
the  hem  of  the  garment  of  Unrest — a  cheap  mean  feeling, 
of  which  I  was  afterward  ashamed. 

l\Iaga  was  not  crowing  over  anybody.  Neither  did  she 
only  dance  of  things  her  senses  knew.  The  history  of  a 
people  seized  her  for  a  reed,  and  wrote  itself  in  figures 
past  imagining  between  the  crimson  firelight  and  the 
shadows  of  the  cattle  stalls. 

Her  dance  that  night  could  never  have  been  done  witli 
leather  between  bare  foot  and  earth.  It  told  of  measure- 
less winds  and  waters — of  the  distances,  the  stars,  the 
day,  the  night — rain  sweeping  down — dew  dropping 
gently — the  hundred  kinds  of  birds — the  thousand  ani- 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  87 

mals  and  creeping  things — and  of  man,  who  is  lord  of  all 
of  them,  and  woman,  who  is  lord  of  man — man  setting 
naked  foot  on  naked  earth  and  glorying  with  the  thrill  of 
life,  new,  good,  and  wonderful. 

One  of  the  Turk's  seven  sons  produced  a  sa:;  toward 
the  end — a  little  Turkish  drum,  and  accompanied  with 
swift,  staccato  stabs  of  sound  that  spurred  her  like  the 
goads  of  overtaking  time  toward  the  peak  of  full  ex- 
pression— faster  and  faster — wilder  and  wilder — freer 
and  freer  of  all  hmits,  until  suddenly  she  left  the  thing 
unfinished,  and  the  drum-taps  died  away  alone. 

That  was  art — plain  art.  No  human  woman  could  have 
finished  it.  It  was  innate  abhorrence  of  the  anticlimax 
that  sent  her,  having  looked  into  the  eyes  of  the  unattain- 
able, to  lie  sobbing  for  short  breath  in  her  corner  in  the 
dark,  leaving  us  to  imagine  the  ending  if  we  could. 

And  instead  of  anticlimax  second  climax  came.  Almost 
before  the  echoes  of  the  drum-taps  died  among  the  danc- 
ing shadows  overhead  a  voice  cried  from  the  roof  in 
Armenian,  and  Kagig  rose  to  his  feet. 

"Let  us  climb  to  the  roof  and  see,  effendim/'  he  said, 
pulling  on  his  tattered  goat-skin  coat. 

"See  what,  Ermenie?"  demanded  Rustum  Khan.  The 
Rajput's  eyes  were  still  ablaze  with  pagan  flame,  from 
watching  Maga. 

"To  see  whether  thou  hast  manhood  behind  that  swag- 
ger!" answered  Kagig,  and  led  the  way.  No  man  ever 
yet  explained  the  racial  aversions. 

"Kopek! — dog,  thou!"  growled  the  Rajput,  but  Kagig 
took  no  notice  and  led  on,  followed  by  Monty  and  the 
rest  of  us.  Maga  and  the  gi])sies  came  last,  swarming 
jjchind  us  up  the  ladder  through  a  hole  among  the  beams, 
and  clambering  on  to  the  roof  over  boxes  piled  in  the 


88  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

draughty  attic.  Up  under  the  stars  a  man  was  standing 
with  an  arm  stretched  out  toward  Tarsus. 

"Look !"  he  said  simply. 

To  the  westward  was  a  crimson  glow  that  mushroomed 
angrily  against  the  sky,  throbbing  and  swelling  with  hot 
life  like  the  vomit  of  a  crater.  We  watched  in  silence  for 
three  minutes,  until  one  of  the  gipsy  women  began  to 
moan. 

"What  do  you  suppose  it  Is?"  I  asked  then. 

"I  know  what  it  is,"  said  Kagig  simply. 

"Tell  then." 

"Effendi,  that  is  the  heart  of  Armenia  burning.  Those 
are  the  homes  of  my  nation — of  my  kin !" 

"And  good  God,  where  d'you  suppose  Miss  Vanderman 
is?"  Fred  exclaimed. 

Will  was  standing  beside  IMaga,  looking  into  her  eyes 
as  if  he  hoped  to  read  in  them  the  riddle  of  Armenia. 


LAUS  LACHRIMABILIS 

So  nozv  the  awaited  ripe  reivard — 
Your  cactus  crozun!  Since  I  have  tirged 
"Get  ready  for  the  untozvard" 
Ye  hid  me  reap  the  wrath  I  dirged; 
And  I  must  show  the  darkened  way. 
Who  beckoned  vainly  in  the  light! 
I'll  lead.  But  salt  of  Dead  Sea  spray 
Were  szveeter  on  my  lips  to-night! 

Oh,  days  of  aching  sinezvs,  when  I  trod  the  choking  dust 
With  feet  afire  that  could  not  tire,  atremhle  zvith  the  trust 
More  mighty  in  my  inner  man  than  fear  of  men  without. 
The  zi'ord  I  heard  on  Kara  Dagh  and  did  not  dare  to 

doubt — 
Timely  zvarning,  clear  to  me  as  starlight  after  rain 
When,  sleepless  on  eternal  hills,  I  sazv  the  purpose  plain 
And  left,  szvift-foot  at  dazvn,  obedient,  to  break 
The  news  ye  saidzvas  no  avail — advice  ye  would  not  take! 

Oh,  nights  of  tireless  talking  by  the  hearth  of  hidden 

fires — 
On  roofs,   behind   the   trade-bales — among  oxen   in    the 

byres — 
Out  in  rain  hetzveen  the  go  dozens,  where  the  splashing 

puddles  zcarn 
Of  tiptoeing  informers;  zi'hen  I  faced  the  freezing  dazvn 
With  set  price  on  my  head,  but  still  the  set  resolve  un- 
tamed, 
Not  melted  by  the  mockery,  by  no  suspicion  showed, 
To  hide  by  day  in  holes,  abiding  dark  and  zcind  and  rain 
That  loosed  me  straining  to  the  task  ye  ridiculed  again! 

Oh,  zceeks  of  empty  zvniting,  zvhile  the  enemy  designed 
In  detail  hozv  to  loot  the  stuff  ye  zvoidd  not  leave  behind! 
IVorse  weeks  of  empty  agony  zi'hen,  helpless  and  alone, 
I  zvatched  in  hiding  for  the  crops  from  that  seed  I  had 
sown; 


For    dust-clouds    that    sliould    prove    at    last    Armenia 

aivake — 
A  nation  up  and  coming!  I  liad  labored  for  your  sake, 
I  had  hungered,  I  had  suffered.    Ye  had  well  rezvarded 

then 
If  ye  had  come,  and  hanged  me  just  to  prove  that  ye  were 

men! 

But  all  the  pride  was  promises,  the  criticism  jeers; 
Ye  had  no  heart  for  sacrifice,  and  I  no  time  for  tears. 
I  offered — nay,  I  gave!    I  squandered  body  and  breath 

and  soul, 
I  bared  the  need,  I  showed  the  zvay,  I  preached  a  goodly 

goal, 
I  urged  you  choose  a  leader,  since  your  faith  in  me  zvas 

dint, 
I  siJore  to  serve  the  chief  ye  chose,  and  teach  my  lore  to 

him. 
So  he  shoidd  reap  zvhcre  I  had  sozvn.   And  yet  ye  bade 

me  zvait — 
And  zvaited  till,  azvcke  at  last,  ye  bid  me  lead  too  late! 

And  so,  in  place  of  ripe  reiuard. 

Your  cactus  crozvn!  And  I,  zvho  urged 

"Get  ready  for  the  untozvard" 

Must  drink  the  dregs  of  wrath  I  dirged! 

Ye  bid  me  set  time's  finger  back! 

And  stage  anew  the  opened  fight! 

I'll  lead.  But  slime  of  Dead  Sea  zvrack 

Were  sweeter  on  my  lips  tJiis  night! 


CHAPTER  SIX 
"Passing  the  buck  to  Allah!" 

THE  first  thought  that  occurred  to  each  of  us  four 
was  that  Kagig  had  probably  Hed,  or  that  he  had 
merely  voiced  his  private  opinion,  based  on  expectation. 
The  glare  in  the  distance  seemed  too  big  and  solid  to  be 
caused  by  burning  houses,  even  supposing  a  whole  vil- 
lage were  in  flames.  Yet  there  was  not  any  other  ex- 
planation we  could  offer.  A  distant  cloud  of  black  smoke 
with  bulging  red  under-belly  rolled  away  through  the 
darkness  like  a  tremendous  mountain  range. 

We  stood  in  silence  trying  to  judge  how  far  away  the 
thing  might  be,  Kagig  standing  alone  with  his  foot  on 
the  parapet,  his  goat-skin  coat  hanging  like  a  hussar's 
dolman,  and  ^lonly  pacing  up  and  down  along  the  roof 
behind  us  all.  The  gipsies  seemed  able  to  converse  by 
nods  and  nudges,  with  now  and  then  one  word  whispered. 
After  a  little  while  Maga  whispered  in  Will's  ear,  and 
he  went  below  with  her.  All  the  gipsies  promptly  fol- 
lowed. Otherwise  in  the  darkness  we  might  not  have 
noticed  where  Will  went. 

"That  proves  she  is  no  gipsy!"  vowed  Rustum  Khan, 
standing  between  Fred  and  mc.  "They  would  have 
trusted  one  of  their  own  kind." 

"They  call  her  Maga  Jhaerc,"  said  I.  "The  attantan's 
name  is  Jhaere.     Don't  you  suj^posc  he's  her  father?" 

"If  he  were  her  father  he  would  have  no  fear,"  the 
Raji)ut  answered.    "All  gipsies  are  alike.    Their  women 

91 


92  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

will  dance  the  nautch,  and  promise  unchastity  as  if  that 
were  a  little  matter.  But  when  it  comes  to  performance 
of  promises  the  gitan^a*  is  true  to  the  Roin.'f  It  is  because 
she  is  no  gipsy  that  they  follow  her  now  to  watch.  And 
it  is  because  men  say  that  Americans  are  Mormons  and 
polygamous,  and  very  swift  in  the  use  of  revolvers,  that 
all  follow  instead  of  one  or  two  1" 

"Go  down  then,  and  make  sure  they  don't  murder 
him !"  commanded  Monty,  and  Rustum  Khan  turned  to 
obey  with  rather  ill  grace.  He  contrived  to  convey  by 
his  manner  that  he  would  do  anything  for  IMonty,  even 
to  the  extent  of  saving  the  life  of  a  man  he  disliked.  At 
the  moment  when  he  turned  there  came  the  sound  of  a 
troop  of  horses  galloping  toward  us. 

"I  will  first  see  who  comes,"  he  said. 

"The  blood  of  Yerkes  sahib  on  your  head,  Rustum 
Khan  1"  Monty  answered.  At  that  he  went  below. 

But  neither  were  we  destined  to  remain  up  there 
very  long.  We  heard  colossal  thumping  in  the  kahveh 
beneath  us  and  presently  the  Rajput's  head  reappeared 
through  the  opening  in  the  roof. 

"The  fools  are  barricading  the  door,"  he  shouted. 
"They  make  sure  that  an  enemy  outside  could  burn  us 
inside  without  hindrance !" 

At  that  Kagig  came  along  the  roof  to  our  corner  and 
looked  into  Monty's  eyes.  Fred  and  I  stood  between 
the  two  of  them  and  the  parapet,  because  for  the  first 
few  seconds  we  were  not  sure  the  Armenian  did  not 
mean  murder.  His  eyes  glittered,  and  his  teeth  gleamed. 
It  was  not  possible  to  guess  whether  or  not  the  hand 
under  his  goat-skin  coat  clutched  a  weapon. 


*  Gitana,  gipsy  young  woman. 

f  Rom — Gipsy  husband,  or  family  man. 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  93 

"It  is  now  that  you  Eenglis  sportmen  shall  endure  a 
test !"  he  remarked. 

Exactly  as  in  the  YenI  Khan  in  Tarsus  when  we  first 
met  him  there  was  a  moment  now  of  intense  repulsion, 
entirely  unaccountable,  succeeded  instantly  by  a  wave  of 
sympathy.  I  laughed  aloud,  remembering  how  strange 
dogs  meeting  in  the  street  to  smell  each  other  are  swept 
by  unexplainable  antipathies  and  equally  swift  comrade- 
ship.  He  thought  I  laughed  at  him. 

"Neye  gcldinf"  he  growled  in  Turkish.  "Wherefore 
didst  thou  come?  To  cackle  like  a  barren  hen  that  sees 
another  laying?  Nichci'o,"  he  added,  turning  his  back  on 
me.  And  that  was  insolence  in  Russian,  meaning  that 
nobody  and  nothing  could  possibly  be  of  less  importance. 
He  seemed  to  keep  a  separate  language  for  each  set  of 
thoughts.  "Let  us  go  below.  Let  us  stop  these  fools  from 
making  too  much  trouble,"  he  added  in  English.  "One 
man  ought  to  stay  on  the  roof.  One  ought  to  be  suf- 
ficient." 

Since  he  had  said  I  did  not  matter,  I  remained,  and  it 
was  therefore  I  who  shouted  down  a  challenge  presently 
in  round  English  at  a  party  who  clattered  to  the  door  on 
blown  horses,  and  thundered  on  it  as  if  they  had  been 
slidtirs*  hurrying  to  herald  the  arrival  of  the  sultan  him- 
self. There  was  nolliing  fugitive  about  their  address  to 
the  decrepit  door,  nor  anything  meek.  Accordingly  I 
couched  the  challenge  in  terms  of  unmistakable  affront, 
repeating  it  at  intervals  until  the  leader  of  the  new  ar- 
rivals chose  to  identify  himself. 

"I  am  Hans  von  Quedlinburg!"  he  shouted.  But  I  did 
not  remember  the  name. 


*  Sluitir,  the  man  who  runs  before  a  personage's  horse. 


94  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

"Only  a  thief  would  come  riding  in  such  a  hurry- 
through  the  night !"  said  I.   "Who  is  with  you  ?" 

Another  voice  shouted  very  fast  and  furiously  in 
Turkish,  but  I  could  not  make  head  or  tail  of  the  words. 
Then  the  German  resumed  the  song  and  dance. 

"Are  you  the  party  who  talked  with  me  at  my  con- 
struction camp?" 

"We  talk  most  of  the  time.  We  eat  food.  We  whistle, 
W^e  drink.  We  laugh !"  said  I. 

"Because  I  think  you  are  the  people  I  am  seeking. 
These  are  Turkish  officials  with  me.  I  have  authority  to 
modify  their  orders,  only  let  me  in !" 

"How  many  o,f  you?"  I  asked.  I  was  leaning  over  at 
risk  of  my  life,  for  any  fool  could  have  seen  my  head 
to  shoot  at  it  against  the  luminous  dark  sky ;  but  I  could 
not  see  to  count  them. 

"Never  mind  how  many!  Let  us  in!  I  am  Hans  von 
Quedlinburg.    My  name  is  sufficient." 

So  I  lied,  emphatically  and  in  thoughtful  detail. 

"You  are  covered,"  I  said,  "by  five  rifles  from  this 
roof.  If  you  don't  believe  it,  try  something.  You'd  better 
wait  there  while  I  wake  my  chief." 

"Only  be  quick  1"  said  the  German,  and  I  saw  him  light 
a  cigarette,  whether  to  convince  me  he  felt  confident  or 
because  he  did  feel  so  I  could  not  say.  I  went  below, 
and  found  Monty  and  Kagig  standing  together  close  to 
the  outer  door.  They  had  not  heard  the  whole  of  the 
conversation  because  of  the  noise  the  owner's  sons  had 
made  removing,  at  their  orders,  the  obstructions  they  had 
piled  against  the  door  in  their  first  panic.  Every  one  else 
had  returned  to  the  sleeping  platforms,  except  the  Turk- 
ish owner,  who  looked  awake  at  last,  and  was  hovering 
here  and  there  in  ecstasies  of  nervousness. 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  95 

I  repeated  what  the  German  had  said,  rather  expect- 
ing that  Kagig  at  any  rate  would  counsel  defiance.  It 
was  he,  however,  who  beckoned  the  Turk  and  bade  him 
open  the  door. 

"But,  effendl—" 

''Chahuk!  Quickly,  I  said!" 

"Che  ars  kimam?"  the  Turk  answered  meekly,  mean- 
ing "What  petition  shall  I  make?"  the  inference  being 
that  all  was  in  the  hands  of  Allah. 

"Of  ten  men  nine  are  women!"  sneered  Kagig  irri- 
tably, and  led  the  way  to  our  place  beside  the  fire.  The 
Turk  fumbled  interminably  with  the  door  fastenings,  and 
we  were  comfortably  settled  in  our  places  before  the  new 
arrivals  rode  in,  bringing  a  blast  of  cold  air  with  them 
that  set  the  smoke  billowing  about  the  room  and  made 
every  man  draw  up  his  blankets. 

"Shut  that  door  behind  them!"  thundered  Kagig.  "If 
they  come  too  slowly,  shut  the  laggards  out !" 

"Who  is  this  who  is  arrogant?"  the  German  demanded 
in  English. 

He  was  a  fine-looking  man,  dressed  in  civilian  clothes 
cut  as  nearly  to  the  military  pattern  as  the  tailor  could 
contrive  without  transgressing  law,  but  with  a  too  small 
fez  perched  on  his  capable-looking  head  in  the  manner 
of  the  Prussian  who  would  like  to  make  the  Turks  be- 
lieve he  loves  them.  Rustum  Khan  cursed  with  keen  at- 
tention to  detail  at  sight  of  him.  The  man  who  had  en- 
tered with  him  became  busy  in  the  shadows  trying  to  find 
room  to  stall  their  horses,  but  Von  Qucdlinburg  gave  his 
reins  to  an  attendant,  and  stood  alone,  akimbo,  with  the 
firelight  disjilaying  him  in  half  relief. 

"I  am  a  man  who  knows,  among  other  things,  the  name 


96  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

of  him  who  bribed  the  kaiwakam*  on  Chakallu,"  Kagig 
answered  slowly,  also  in  English. 

The  German  laughed. 

"Then  you  know  without  further  argument  that  I  am 
not  to  be  denied !"  he  answered.  "What  I  say  to-night 
the  government  officials  will  confirm  to-morrow!  Are 
you  Kagig,  whom  they  call  the  Eye  of  Zeitoon  ?" 

"I  am  no  jackal,"  said  Kagig  dryly,  punning  on  the 
name  Chakallu,  which  means  "place  of  jackals." 

The  German  coughed,  set  one  foot  forward,  and  folded 
both  arms  on  his  breast.  He  looked  capable  and  bold  in 
that  attitude,  and  knew  it.  I  knew  at  last  who  he  was, 
and  wondered  why  I  had  not  recognized  him  sooner — the 
contractor  who  had  questioned  us  near  the  railway  en- 
campment along  the  way,  and  had  offered  us  directions ; 
but  his  manner  was  as  dift'erent  now  from  then  as  a 
bully's  in  and  out  of  school.  Then  he  had  sought  to  pla- 
cate, and  had  almost  cringed  to  Monty.  Everything 
about  him  now  proclaimed  the  ungloved  upper  hand. 

His  party,  finding  no  room  to  stall  their  horses,  had 
begun  to  turn  ours  loose,  and  there  was  uproar  along  the 
gipsy  side  of  the  room — no  action  yet,  but  a  threatening 
snarl  that  promised  plenty  of  it.  Will  was  half  on  his 
feet  to  interfere,  but  Monty  signed  to  him  to  keep  cool ; 
and  it  was  Monty's  aggravatingly  well-modulated  voice 
that  laid  the  law  down. 

"Will  you  be  good  enough,"  he  asked  blandly,  "to  call 
ofT  your  men  from  meddling  with  our  mounts?"  He 
could  not  be  properly  said  to  drawl,  because  there  was  a 
positive  subacid  crispness  in  his  voice  that  not  even  a 
Prussian  or  a  Turk  on  a  dark  night  could  have  over- 
looked. 


* Kaitnakam,  hezdman  (Turkish). 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  97 

The  German  laughed  again. 

"Perhaps  you  did  not  hear  my  name,"  he  said.  "I  am 
Hans  von  Quedlinburg.  As  over-contractor  on  the  Bagh- 
dad railway  I  have  the  privilege  of  prior  accommoda- 
tion at  all  road-houses  in  this  province — for  myself  and 
my  attendants.  And  in  addition  there  are  with  me  cer- 
tain Turkish  officers,  whose  rights  I  dare  say  you  will 
not  dispute." 

Monty  did  not  laugh,  although  Fred  was  chuckling  in 
confident  enjoyment  of  the  situation. 

"You  need  a  lesson  in  manners,"  said  Monty. 

"What  do  you  mean?"  demanded  Hans  von  Quedlin- 
burg. 

Monty  rose  to  his  feet  without  a  single  unnecessary 
motion. 

"I  mean  that  unless  you  call  off  your  men — at  once — 
this  minute  from  interfering  with  our  animals  I  shall 
give  you  the  lesson  you  need." 

The  German  saluted  in  mock  respect.  Then  he  patted 
his  breast-pocket  so  as  to  show  the  outline  of  a  large 
repeating  pistol.  Monty  took  two  steps  forward.  The 
German  drew  the  pistol  with  an  oath.  Will  Yerkes,  be- 
yond Fred  and  slightly  behind  the  German,  coughed 
meaningly.  The  German  turned  his  head,  to  find  that  he 
was  covered  by  a  pistol  as  large  as  his  own. 

"Oh,  very  well,"  he  said,  "what  is  the  use  of  making 
a  scene?"  He  thrust  his  pistol  back  under  cover 
and  shouted  an  order  in  Turkish.  Monty  returned  to  his 
place  and  sat  down.  The  newcomers  at  the  rear  of  the 
room  tied  their  horses  together  by  the  bridles,  and  llans 
von  Quedlinburg  resumed  his  well-fed  smile. 

"Let  it  be  clearly  understood,"  he  said,  "that  you  have 
interfered  with  onici^d  privilege." 


98  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

"As  long  as  you  do  your  best  in  the  way  of  manners 
you  may  go  on  with  your  errand,"  said  Monty. 

Suddenly  Fred  laughed  aloud. 

"The  martyred  biped !"  he  yelped. 

He  was  right.  Peter  ]\I easel,  missionary  on  his  own 
account,  and  sometime  keeper  of  most  libelous  accounts, 
stepped  out  from  the  shadows  and  essayed  to  warm  him- 
self, walking  past  the  German  with  a  sort  of  mincing 
gait  not  calculated  to  assert  his  manliness.  Hans  von 
Quedlinburg  stretched  out  a  strong  arm  and  hurled  him 
back  again  into  the  darkness  at  the  rear. 

*'Tchuk-tchiik!  Zuruek!"  he  muttered. 

It  clearly  disconcerted  him  to  have  his  inferiors  in 
rank  assert  themselves.  That  accounted,  no  doubt,  for 
the  meek  self-effacement  of  the  Turks  who  had  come 
with  him.  Peter  ]\Ieasel  did  not  appear  to  mind  being 
rebuked.  He  crossed  to  the  other  side  of  the  room,  and 
proceeded  to  look  the  gipsies  over  with  the  air  of  a 
learned  ethnologist. 

"You  speak  of  my  errand,"  said  Hans  von  Quedlin- 
burg, "as  if  you  imagine  I  come  seeking  favors.  I  am 
here  incidentally  to  rescue  you  and  your  party  from  the 
clutches  of  an  outlaw.  The  Turkish  officials  who  are 
with  me  have  authority  to  arrest  everybody  in  this  place, 
yourselves  included.  Fortunately  I  am  able  to  modify 
that.  Kagig — that  rascal  beside  you — is  a  well-known 
agitator.  He  is  a  criminal.  His  arrest  and  trial  have  been 
ordered  on  the  charge,  among  other  things,  of  stirring 
up  discontent  among  the  Armenian  laborers  on  the  rail- 
way work.  These  gipsies  are  all  his  agents.  They  are 
all  under  arrest.  You  yourselves  will  be  escorted  to  safety 
at  the  coast." 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  99 

"Why  should  we  need  an  escort  to  safety?"  Monty 
demanded. 

"Were  you  on  the  roof  ?"  the  German  answered.  "And 
is  it  possible  you  did  not  see  the  conflagration?  An 
Armenian  insurrection  has  been  nipped  in  the  bud.  Sev- 
eral villages  are  burning.  The  other  inhabitants  are  very 
much  incensed,  and  all  foreigners  are  in  danger — your- 
selves especially,  since  you  have  seen  fit  to  travel  in  com- 
pany with  such  a  person  as  Kagig." 

"What  has  Peter  Measel  got  to  do  with  it?"  demanded 
Fred.  "Has  he  been  writing  down  all  our  sins  in  a  new 
book?" 

"He  will  identify  you.  He  will  also  identify  Kagig's 
agents.  He  brings  a  personal  charge  against  a  man  named 
Rustum  Khan,  who  must  return  to  Tarsus  to  answer  it. 
The  charge  is  robbery  with  violence." 

Rustum  Khan  snorted. 

"The  violence  was  only  too  gentle,  and  too  soon  ended. 
As  for  robbery,  if  I  have  robbed  him  of  a  little  self- 
conceit,  I  will  answer  to  God  for  that  when  my  hour 
shall  come !  How  is  it  your  affair  to  drag  that  whimper- 
ing fool  through  Asia  at  your  tail — you  a  German  and 
he  English?" 

The  German  had  a  hot  answer  ready  for  that,  but  the 
Turks  had  discovered  Maga  Jhaere  in  hiding  in  the 
shadows  between  two  old  women.  She  screamed  as  they 
tried  to  drag  her  forth,  and  tlie  scream  brought  us  all  to 
our  feet.  But  this  time  it  was  Kagig  who  was  swiftest, 
and  we  got  our  first  proof  of  the  man's  enormous 
strength.  Fred,  Will  and  I  charged  together  round  l)c- 
hind  the  newcomers'  horses,  in  order  to  make  sure  of 
cutting  off  retreat  as  well  as  rescuing  Maga.    Monty 


100  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

leveled  a  pistol  at  the  German's  head.  But  Kagig  did  not 
waste  a  fraction  of  a  second  on  side-issues  of  any  sort. 
He  flew  at  the  German's  throat  hke  a  Avolf  at  a  bullock. 
The  German  fired  at  him,  missed,  and  before  he  could  fire 
again  he  was  caught  in  a  grip  he  could  not  break,  and 
fighting  for  breath,  balance  and  something  more. 

One  of  the  gipsies,  who  had  not  seen  the  need  of 
hurrying  to  Maga's  aid,  now  proved  the  soundness  of 
his  judgment  by  divining  Kagig's  purpose  and  tossing 
several  new  faggots  on  the  already  prodigious  fire. 

"Good !"  barked  Kagig,  bending  the  struggling  German 
this  and  that  way  as  it  pleased  him. 

Seeing  our  man  with  the  upper  hand,  Monty  and 
Rustum  Khan  now  hurried  into  the  melee,  where  two 
Turkish  officers  and  eight  zaptieh  were  fighting  to  keep 
Maga  from  four  gipsies  and  us  three.  Nobody  had  seen 
fit  to  shoot,  but  there  was  a  glimmering  of  cold  steel 
among  the  shadows  like  lightning  before  a  thunder-storm. 
Monty  used  his  fists.  Rustum  Khan  used  the  flat  of  a  Raj- 
put saber.  Maga,  leaving  most  of  her  clothing  in  the 
Turk's  hands,  struggled  free  and  in  another  second  the 
Turks  were  on  the  defensive.  Rustum  Khan  knocked  the 
revolver  out  of  an  officer's  hand,  and  the  rest  of  them 
were  struggling  to  use  their  rifles,  when  the  German 
shrieked.  All  fights  are  full  of  pauses,  when  either  side 
could  snatch  sudden  victory  if  alert  enough.  We  stopped, 
and  turned  to  look,  as  if  our  own  lives  were  not  in  danger. 

Kagig  had  the  German  off  his  feet,  face  toward  the 
flames,  kicking  and  screaming  like  a  madman.  He 
whirled  him  twice — shouted  a  sort  of  war-cry — hove  him 
high  with  every  sinew  in  his  tough  frame  cracking — and 
hurled  him  head-foremost  into  the  fire. 

The  Turks  took  the  cue  to  haul  off  and  stand  staring  at 


Head   foitniost  into  the  five 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  101 

us.  We  all  withdrew  to  easier  pistol  range,  for  con- 
trary to  general  belief,  close  quarters  almost  never  help 
straight  aim,  especially  when  in  a  hurry.  There  is  a 
shooting  as  well  as  a  camera  focus,  and  each  man  has  his 
own. 

Pretty  badly  burnt  about  the  face  and  fingers,  Hans 
von  Quedlinburg  crawled  backward  out  of  the  fire,  smell- 
ing like  the  devil,  of  singed  wool.  Kagig  closed  on  him, 
and  hurled  him  back  again.  This  time  the  German 
plunged  through  the  fire,  and  out  beyond  it  to  a  space 
between  the  flames  and  the  back  wall,  where  it  must  have 
been  hot  enough  to  make  the  fat  run.  He  stood  with  a 
forearm  covering  his  face,  while  Kagig  thundered  at 
him  voluminous  abuse  in  Turkish.  I  wondered,  first,  why 
the  German  did  not  shoot,  and  then  why  his  loaded  pistol 
did  not  blow  up  in  the  heat,  until  I  saw  that  in  further 
proof  of  strength  Kagig  had  looted  his  pistol  and  was 
standing  with  one  foot  on  it. 

Finally,  when  the  beautiful  smooth  cloth  of  which  his 
coat  was  made  had  taken  on  a  stinking  overlay  of 
crackled  black,  the  German  chose  to  obey  Kagig  and 
came  leaping  back  through  the  fire,  and  lay  groaning  on 
the  floor,  where  the  kahveh's  owner's  seven  sons  poured 
water  on  him  by  Kagig's  order.  His  burns  were  evi- 
dently painful,  Ijut  not  nearly  so  serious  as  I  expected. 
I  got  out  the  first-aid  stuff  from  our  medicine  bag,  and 
Will,  who  was  our  sclf-constitulcd  doctor  on  the  strength 
of  having  once  attended  an  autopsy,  disguised  as  a  re- 
porter, in  the  morgue  at  the  back  of  P.ellcvue  Hospital  in 
New  York  City,  beckoned  a  gipsy  woman,  and  proceeded 
to  instruct  her  what  to  do. 

However,  Hans  von  Quedlinburg  was  no  nervous 
weakling.   He  snatched  the  pot  of  grease  from  the  worn- 


102  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

an's  hands,  daubed  gobs  of  the  stuff  hberally  on  his  face 
and  hands,  and  sat  up — resembling  an  unknown  kind  of 
angry  animal  with  his  eyebrows  and  mustache  burned 
off  except  for  a  stray,  outstanding  whisker  here  and 
there.  In  a  voice  like  a  bull's  at  the  smell  of  blood  he 
reversed  what  he  had  shouted  through  the  flames,  and 
commanded  his  Turks  to  arrest  the  lot  of  us. 

Kagig  laughed  at  that,  and  spoke  to  him  in  English, 
I  suppose  in  order  that  we,  too,  might  understand. 

"Those  Turks  are  my  prisoners !"  he  said.  "And  so 
are  you !" 

It  was  true  about  the  Turks.  They  had  not  given  up 
their  weapons  yet,  but  the  gipsies  were  between  them  and 
the  door,  and  even  the  gipsy  women  were  armed  to  the 
teeth  and  willing  to  do  battle.  I  caught  sight  of  Maga's 
mother-o'-pearl  plated  revolver,  and  the  Turkish  officer 
at  whom  she  had  it  leveled  did  not  look  inclined  to  dis- 
pute the  upper  hand. 

"You  Germans  are  all  alike,"  sneered  Kagig.  "A  dog 
could  read  your  reasoning.  You  thought  these  foreigners 
would  turn  against  me.  It  never  entered  your  thick  skull 
that  they  might  rather  defy  you  than  see  me  made  pris- 
oner. Fool !  Did  men  name  me  Eye  of  Zeitoon  for 
nothing?  Have  I  watched  for  nothing!  Did  I  know  the 
very  wording  of  the  letters  in  your  private  box  for  noth- 
ing? Are  you  the  only  spy  in  Asia  ?  Am  I  Kagig,  and  do 
I  not  know  who  advised  dismissing  all  Armenians  from 
the  railway  work  ?  Am  I  Kagig,  and  do  I  not  know  why  ? 
Kopek!  (Dog!)  You  would  beggar  my  people,  in  order 
to  curry  favor  with  the  Turk.  You  seek  to  take  me  be- 
cause I  know  your  ways !  Two  months  ago  you  knew  to 
within  a  day  or  two  when  these  new  massacres  would  be- 
gin.    One  month,  three  weeks,  and  four  days  ago  you 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  103 

ordered  men  to  dig  my  grave,  and  swore  to  bury  me 
alive  in  it!  What  shall  hinder  me  from  burning  you 
alive  this  minute  ?" 

There  were  five  good  hindrances,  for  I  think  that 
Rustum  Khan  would  have  objected  to  that  cruelty,  even 
had  he  been  alone.  Kagig  caught  JMonty's  eye  and 
laughed. 

"Korkakma!"  he  jeered.  "Do  not  be  afraid!"  Then  he 
glanced  swiftly  at  the  Turks,  and  at  Peter  ]\Ieasel,  who 
was  staring  all-eyes  at  ]\Iaga  on  the  far  side  of  the  room. 

"Order  your  pigs  of  mptieh  to  throw  their  arms 
down!" 

Instead,  the  German  shouted  to  them  to  fire  volleys  at 
us.  He  was  not  without  a  certain  stormy  courage,  what- 
ever Kagig's  knowledge  of  his  treachery. 

But  the  Turks  did  not  fire,  and  it  was  perfectly  plain 
that  we  four  were  the  reason  of  it.  They  had  been  prom- 
ised an  easy  prey — captured  women — loot — and  the  re- 
munerative task  of  escorting  us  to  safety.  Doubtless  Von 
Quedlinburg  had  promised  them  our  consul  would  be 
lavish  with  rewards  on  our  account.  Therefore  there 
was  added  reason  why  they  should  not  fire  on  English- 
men and  an  American.  We  had  not  made  a  move  since 
the  first  scuffie  when  we  rescued  Maga,  but  the  Turkish 
lieutenant  had  taken  our  measure.  Perhaps  he  had  whis- 
pered to  his  men.  Perhaps  they  reached  their  own  con- 
clusions.   The  effect  was  the  same  in  either  case. 

"Order  them  to  throw  their  weapons  down !"  com- 
manded Kagig,  kicking  the  German  in  the  ribs.  And  his 
coat  had  been  so  scorched  in  the  fierce  heat  that  the  whole 
of  one  side  of  it  broke  off,  like  a  cinder  slab. 

This  time  Hans  von  Quedlinburg  obeyed.  For  one 
thing  the  pain  of  his  burns  was  beginning  to  tell  on  him, 


104  'THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

but  he  could  see,  too,  that  he  had  lost  prestige  with  his 
party. 

"Throw  down  your  weapons!"  he  ordered  savagely. 

But  he  had  lost  more  prestige  than  he  knew,  or  else  he 
had  less  in  the  beginning  than  he  counted  on.  The  Turk- 
ish lieutenant — a  man  of  about  forty  with  the  evidence 
of  all  the  sensual  appetites  very  plainly  marked  on  his 
face — laughed  and  brought  his  men  to  attention.  Then 
he  made  a  kind  of  half-military  motion  with  his  hand 
toward  each  of  us  in  turn,  ignoring  Kagig  but  intending 
to  convey  that  we  at  any  rate  need  not  feel  anxious. 

It  was  ]\Iaga  Jhaere  who  solved  the  riddle  of  that  im- 
passe. She  was  hardly  in  condition  to  appear  before  a 
crowd  of  men,  for  the  Turks  had  torn  off  most  of  her 
clothes,  and  she  had  not  troubled  to  find  others.  She  was 
unashamed,  and  as  beautiful  and  angry  as  a  panther. 
With  panther  suddenness  she  snatched  the  lieutenant's 
sword  and  pistol. 

It  suited  neither  his  national  pride  nor  religious  preju- 
dices to  be  disarmed  by  a  gipsy  woman ;  but  the  Turk  is 
an  amazing  fatalist,  and  unexpectedness  is  his  peculiar 
quality. 

"Che  ars  hmam?"  he  muttered — the  perennial  com- 
ment of  the  Turk  who  has  failed,  that  always  made 
Kagig  bare  his  teeth  in  a  spasm  of  contempt.  "Passing 
the  buck  to  Allah,"  as  Will  construed  it. 

But  disarming  the  mere  conscript  soldiers  was  not 
quite  so  simple,  although  Maga  managed  it.  They  had 
less  regard  for  their  own  skins  than  handicapped  their 
officer,  and  yet  more  than  his  contempt  for  the  female  of 
any  human  breed. 

They  refused  point-blank  to  throw  their  rifles  down, 
bringing  a  laugh  and  a  shout  of  encouragement  from  the 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  103 

German.  But  she  screwed  the  muzzle  of  her  pistol  into 
the  heutenant's  ear,  and  bade  him  enforce  her  orders, 
the  gipsy  women  applauding  with  a  chorus  of  "Ohs"  and 
"Ahs."  The  lieutenant  succumbed  to  force  majeure,  and 
his  men,  who  were  inclined  to  die  rather  than  take  orders 
from  a  woman,  obeyed  him  readily  enough.  They  laid 
their  riHes  down  carefully,  without  a  suggestion  of  re- 
sentment. 

"So.  The  women  of  Zeitoon  are  good!"  said  Kagig 
■with  a  curt  nod  of  approval,  and  IMaga  tossed  him  a 
smile  fit  for  the  instigation  of  another  siege  of  Troy. 

The  gipsy  women  picked  the  rifles  up,  and  Maga  went 
to  hunt  through  the  mule-packs  for  clothing.  Then 
Kagig  turned  on  us,  motioning  with  his  toe  toward  Hans 
von  Quedlinburg,  who  continued  to  treat  himself  extrav- 
agantly from  our  jar  of  ointment. 

"You  do  not  know  yet  the  depths  of  this  man's  in- 
famy!" he  said.  "The  world  professes  to  loathe  Turks 
who  rob,  sell  and  murder  women  and  children.  What  of 
a  German — a  foreigner  in  Turkey,  who  instigates  the 
murder — and  the  robbery — and  the  burning — and  tlie 
butchery — for  his  own  ends,  or  for  his  bloody  country's 
ends?    This  man  is  an  instigator!" 

"You  lie!"  snarled  Von  Quedlinburg.  "You  dog  of  an 
Armenian,  you  lie !" 

Kagig  ignored  him. 

"This  is  the  German  sporlman  who  tried  once  to  go  to 
Zeitoon  to  shoot  bears,  as  he  said.  But  I  knew  he  was 
a  spy.  I  am  not  the  Eye  of  Zeitoon  merely  because  that 
title  rolls  nicely  on  the  tongue.  1  le  has — perhaps  he  has 
it  in  his  pocket  now — a  concession  from  the  politicians  in 
Stamboul,  granting  him  the  right  to  exploit  Zeitoon — a 
place  he  has  never  seen  !     I  le  has  encouraged  this  present 


106  THE  F.YE  OF  ZFJTOON 

butchery  in  order  that  Turkish  soldiers  may  have  excuse 
to  penetrate  to  Zeitoon  that  he  covets.  He  wants  you 
EengHs  sportmen  out  of  the  way.  You  were  to  be  sent 
safely  back  to  Tarsus,  lost  you  should  be  witnesses  of 
what  must  happen.    Perhaps  you  do  not  believe  all  this?'* 

He  stooped  down  and  searched  the  German's  coat 
pockets  with  impatient  fingers  that  tugged  and  jerked, 
tossing  out  handkerchief  and  wallet,  cigars,  matches  that 
by  a  miracle  had  not  caught  in  the  heat,  and  considerable 
money  to  the  floor.  He  took  no  notice  of  the  money, 
but  one  of  the  old  gipsy  women  crept  out  and  annexed 
it,  and  Kagig  made  no  comment. 

"He  has  not  his  concession  with  him.  I  can  prove 
nothing  to-night.  I  said  you  shall  stand  a  test.  You 
must  choose.  This  German  and  those  Turks  are  my 
prisoners.  You  have  nothing  to  do  with  it.  You  may 
go  back  to  Tarsus  if  you  wish,  and  tell  the  Turks  that 
Kagig  defies  them!  You  shall  have  an  escort  as  far  as 
the  nearest  garrison.  You  shall  have  fifty  men  to  take 
you  back  by  dawn  to-morrow." 

At  that  Rustum  Khan  turned  several  shades  darker 
and  glared  truculently. 

"Who  art  thou,  Armenian,  to  frame  a  test  for  thy  bet- 
ters ?"  he  demanded,  throwing  a  very  military  chest.  And 
Will  promptly  bridled  at  the  Rajput's  attitude. 

"You've  no  call  to  make  yourself  out  any  better  than 
he  is !"  he  interrupted.  And  at  that  Maga  Jhaere  threw 
a  kiss  from  across  the  room,  but  one  could  not  tell 
•whether  her  own  dislike  of  Rustum  Khan,  or  her  ap- 
proval of  Will's  support  of  Kagig  was  the  motive. 

Fred  began  humming  in  the  ridiculous  way  he  has  when 
he  thinks  that  an  air  of  unconcern  may  ease  a  situation, 
and  of  course  Rustum  Khan  mistook  the  nasal  noises  for 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  107 

intentional  insult.  He  turned  on  the  unsuspecting  Fred 
like  a  tiger.  Monty's  quick  wit  and  level  voice  alone 
saved  open  rupture. 

"What  I  imagine  Rustum  Khan  means  is  this,  Kagig: 
My  friends  and  I  have  engaged  you  as  guide  for  a  hunt- 
ing trip.  We  propose  to  hold  you  strictly  to  the  con- 
tract." 

Kagig  looked  keenly  at  each  of  us  and  nodded. 

"In  my  day  I  have  seen  the  hunters  hunted !"  he  said 
darkly. 

"In  my  day  I  have  seen  an  upstart  punished !"  growled 
the  Rajput,  and  sat  down,  back  to  the  wall. 

"Castles,  and  bears  1"  smiled  Monty. 

Kagig  grinned. 

"What  if  I  propose  a  different  quarry?" 

"Propose  and  see !"  Monty  was  on  the  alert,  and 
therefore  to  all  outward  appearance  in  a  sort  of  well- 
fed,  catlike,  dallying  mood. 

"This  dog,"  said  Kagig,  and  he  kicked  the  German's 
ribs  again,  "has  said  nothing  of  any  other  person  he 
must  rescue.     Bear  me  witness." 

We  murmurofl  admission  of  the  truth  of  that. 

"Yet  I  am  the  Eye  of  Zeiloon,  and  I  know.  Ilis  pur- 
pose was  to  leave  his  prisoners  here  and  hurry  on  to  over- 
take a  lady — a  certain  Miss  Vanderman,  who  he  tliinks  is 
on  her  way  to  tlie  mission  at  Marash.  He  desired  the 
credit  for  her  rescue  in  order  better  to  blind  the  world  to 
his  misdeeds!  Nevertheless,  now  that  she  can  be  no  more 
u^f  to  him,  observe  his  chivalry !  He  docs  not  even  men- 
tion her !" 

The  German  shrugged  his  shoulders,  implying  that  to 
argnc  with  such  a  savage  was  waste  of  breath. 

"What  do  you  know  of   Miss  Vanderman's   where- 


108  THE  EYE  OE  ZEITOON 

abouts  7'*  demanded  Will,  and  Maga  Jhaere,  at  the  sound 
of  another  woman's  name,  sat  bolt  upright  between  two 
other  women  whose  bright  eyes  peeped  out  from  under 
blankets. 

"I  had  word  of  her  an  hour  before  you  came,  effendi," 
Kagig  answered,  "She  and  her  party  look  fright  this 
afternoon,  and  have  taken  to  the  hills.  They  are  farther 
ahead  than  this  pig  dreamed" — once  more  he  kicked  Von 
Quedlinburg — "more  than  a  day's  march  ahead  from 
here." 

"Then  we'll  hunt  for  her  first,"  said  Monty,  and  the 
rest  of  us  nodded  assent. 

Kagig  grinned. 

"You  shall  find  her.  You  shall  see  a  castle.  In  the 
castle  where  you  find  her  you  shall  choose  again !  It  is 
agreed,  effcvdi!" 

Then  he  ordered  his  prisoners  made  fast,  and  the  gip- 
sies and  our  Zeitoonli  servants  attended  to  it,  he  himself, 
however,  binding  the  German's  hands  and  feet.  Will 
went  and  jxit  bandages  on  the  man's  burns,  I  standing  by 
to  help.    But  we  got  no  thanks. 

"Ihr  seit  vcrruckt!"  he  sneered.  "You  take  the  side  of 
bandits.    Passt  nial  auf — there  will  be  punishment !" 

The  Zeitoonli  were  going  to  tie  Peter  Aleasel,  but  he 
set  up  such  a  howl  that  Kagig  at  last  took  notice  of  him 
and  ordered  him  flung,  unbound,  into  the  great  wooden 
bin  in  Avhich  the  horse-feed  was  kept  for  sale  to  way- 
farers. There  he  lay,  and  slept  and  snored  for  the  rest 
of  that  session,  with  his  mouth  close  to  a  mouse-hole. 

Then  Kagig  ordered  our  Zeitoonli  to  the  roof  on  guard, 
and  bade  us  sleep  with  a  patriarchal  air  of  authority. 

"There  is  no  knowing  when  I  shall  decide  to  march," 
he  explained. 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  109 

Given  enough  fatigue,  and  warmth,  and  quietness,  a 
man  will  sleep  under  almost  any  set  of  circumstances. 
The  great  fire  blazed,  and  flickered,  and  finally  died  down 
to  a  bed  of  crimson.  The  prisoners  were  most  likely  all 
awake,  for  their  bonds  were  tight,  but  only  Kagig  re- 
mained seated  in  the  midst  of  his  mess  of  blankets  by 
the  hearth;  and  I  think  he  slept  in  that  position,  and 
that  I  was  the  last  to  doze  off.  But  none  of  us  slept  very 
long. 

There  came  a  shout  from  the  roof  again,  and  once 
again  a  thundering  on  the  door.  The  move — unanimous 
— that  the  gipsies'  right  hands  made  to  clutch  their 
weapons  resembled  the  jump  from  surprise  into  stillness 
when  the  jungle  is  caught  unawares.  A  second  later 
when  somebody  tossed  dry  fagots  on  the  fire  the  blaze 
betrayed  no  other  expression  on  their  faces  than  the 
stock-in-trade  stolidit}''.  Even  the  women  looked  as  if 
thundering  on  a  kahveh  door  at  night  was  nothing  to  be 
noticed.  Kagig  did  not  move,  but  I  could  see  that  he 
was  breathing  faster  than  the  normal,  and  he,  too, 
clutched  a  weapon.  Von  Qucdlinburg  began  shouting  for 
help  alternately  in  Turkish  and  in  German,  and  the  owner 
of  the  place  produced  a  gim — a  long,  bright,  steel-barreled 
affair  of  the  vintage  of  the  Comitajcs  and  the  First  Greek 
War.     Tie  and  his  sons  ran  to  the  door  to  barricade  it. 

"Yavash!"  ordered  Kagig.  The  word  means  slowly, 
as  applied  to  all  the  human  })rocesses.  In  that  instance  it 
meant  "Go  slow  with  your  noise !"  and  mine  host  so  un- 
derstood it. 

But  the  thundering  on  the  great  door  never  ceased, 
and  the  kahveh  was  too  full  of  the  noise  of  that  for  us 
to  hear  what  the  Zcitoonli  called  down  from  the  roof. 
Kagig  arose  and  stood  in  the  middle  of  the  room  with 


no  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

the  firelight  behind  him.  He  listened  for  two  minutes, 
standing  stock-still,  a  thin  smile  flickering  across  his  lean 
face,  and  the  sharp  satyr-like  tops  of  his  ears  seeming 
to  prick  outward  in  the  act  of  intelligence. 

"Open  and  let  them  in !"  he  commanded  at  last. 

"I  will  not !"  roared  the  owner  of  the  place.  "I  shall 
be  tortured,  and  all  my  house !" 

"Open,  I  said!" 

"But  they  will  make  us  prisoner !" 

Kagig  made  a  sign  wath  his  right  hand.  Gregor  Jhaere 
rose  and  whispered.  One  by  one  the  remaining  gipsies 
followed  him  into  the  shadows,  and  there  came  a  noise 
of  scuffling,  and  of  oaths  and  blows.  As  Gregor  Jhaere 
had  mentioned  earlier,  they  did  obey  Kagig  now  and 
then.  The  Tvirks  came  back  looking  crestfallen,  and  the 
fastenings  creaked.  Then  the  door  burst  open  with  a 
blast  of  icy  air,  and  there  poured  in  nineteen  armed  men 
who  blinked  at  the  firelight  helplessly. 

"Kagig — where  is  Kagig?" 

"You  cursed  fools,  where  should  I  be!" 

"Kagig?  Is  it  truly  you?"  Their  eyes  were  still 
blinded  by  the  blaze. 

"Shut  that  door  again,  and  bolt  it !  Aye — Kagig.  Kagig, 
is  it  you !" 

"It  is  Kagig!    Behold  him!    Look!" 

They  clustered  close  to  see,  smelling  infernally  of 
sweaty  garments  and  of  the  mud  from  unholy  lurking 
places. 

"Kagig  it  is  !  And  has  all  happened  as  I,  Kagig,  warned 
you  it  would  happen  ?" 

"Aye.    All.     ^lore.    Worse!" 

"Had  you  acted  beforehand  in  the  manner  I  advised?" 

"No,   Kagig,     We   put   it  off.     We  talked,   and   dis- 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  111 

agreed.  And  then  it  was  too  late  to  agree.  They  were 
cutting  throats  while  we  still  argued.  When  we  ran  into 
the  street  to  take  the  offensive  they  were  already  shoot- 
ing from  the  roofs !" 

"Hah !" 

That  bitter  dry  expletive,  coughed  out  between  set 
teeth,  could  not  be  named  a  laugh. 

"Kagig,  listen !" 

"Aye !  Now  it  is  'Kagig,  listen !'  But  a  little  while 
ago  it  was  I  who  was  saying  'Listen!'  I  walked  myself 
lame,  and  talked  myself  hoarse.  Who  listened  to  me? 
Why  should  I  listen  to  you?" 

"But,  Kagig,  my  wife  is  gone !" 

"Hah  1" 

"My  daughter,  Kagig!" 

"Hah !" 

A  third  man  thrust  himself  forward  and  thumped  the 
butt  of  a  long  rifle  on  the  floor. 

"They  took  my  wife  and  two  daughters  before  my 
veiy  eyes,  Kagig!  It  is  no  time  for  talking  now — ^you 
have  talked  already  too  much,  Kagig — now  prove  your- 
self a  man  of  deeds!  With  these  eyes  I  saw  them 
dragged  by  the  hair  down  street!  Oh,  would  God  that 
I  had  put  my  eyes  out  first,  then  had  I  never  seen  it! 
Kagig—" 

"Aye—'Kagig!'" 

"You  shall  not  sneer  at  mc !  I  shot  one  Turk,  and  ten 
more  pounced  on  them.  They  screamed  to  me.  They 
called  to  me  to  rescue.  Vv'hat  could  I  do  ?  I  shot,  and  I 
shot  until  the  rifle  barrel  burned  my  fingers.  Then  those 
cursed  Turks  set  the  house  on  fire  behind  mc,  and  my 
companions  dragged  mc  away  to  come  and  find  others  to 
unite  with  us  and  make  a  stand !    We  found  no  others ! 


112  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

K^gig — I  tell  you — those  bloody  Turks  are  auction injj 
our  wives  and  daughters  in  the  village  church  1  It  is 
time  to  act !" 

"Hah!  Who  was  it  urged  you  in  season  and  out  of 
season — day  and  night — month  in,  month  out — to  come  to 
Zeitoon  and  help  me  fortify  the  place?  Who  urged  you 
to  send  your  women  there  long  ago  ?" 

"But  Kagig,  you  do  not  appreciate.  To  you  it  is  noth- 
ing not  to  have  women  near  you.  We  have  mothers,  sis- 
ters, wives — " 

"Nothing  to  me,  is  it  ?  These  eyes  have  seen  my  mother 
ravished  by  a  Kurd  in  a  Turkish  uniform!" 

"Well,  that  only  proves  you  are  one  with  us  after  all ! 
That  only  proves — " 

"One  with  you !  Why  did  you  not  act,  then,  when  I 
risked  life  and  limb  a  thousand  times  to  urge  you?" 

"We  could  not,  Kagig.  That  would  have  precipi- 
tated—" 

He  interrupted  the  man  with  an  oath  like  the  aggre- 
gate of  bitterness. 

"Precipitated?  Did  waiting  for  the  massacre  like 
chickens  waiting  for  the  ax  delay  the  massacres  a  day? 
But  now  it  is  'Come  and  lead  us,  Kagig!'  How  many  of 
you  are  there  left  to  lead  ?" 

"Who  knows?    We  are  nineteen — " 

"Hah !  And  I  am  to  run  with  nineteen  men  to  the  rape 
of  Tarsus  and  Adana  ?" 

"Our  people  will  rally  to  you,  Kagig  I" 

"They  shall." 

"Come,  then  1" 

"They  shall  rally  at  Zeitoon !" 

"Oh,    Kagig — how    shall    they    reach    Zeitoon?      The 


THE  F.YE  OF  ZEITOON  113 

cursed  Turks  have  ordered  out  the  soldiers  and  are  send- 
ing regiments — " 

"I  warned  they  would !" 

"The  cavalry  are  hunting  down  fugitives  along  the 
roads  1" 

"As  I  foretold  a  hundred  times  1" 

"They  were  sent  to  protect  Armenians — " 

"That  is  always  the  excuse !" 

"And  they  kill — kill — kill!  A  dozen  of  them  hunted 
me  for  two  miles,  until  I  hid  in  a  water-course!  Look 
at  us !  Look  at  our  clothes !  We  are  wet  to  the  skin — 
tired — starving !   Kagig,  be  a  man !" 

He  went  back  to  his  mess  of  blankets  and  sat  down  on 
it,  too  bitter  at  heart  for  words.  They  reproached  him  in 
chorus,  coming  nearer  to  the  fire  to  let  the  fierce  heat 
draw  the  stink  out  of  their  clothes. 

"Aye,  Kagig,  you  must  not  forget  your  race.  You 
must  not  forget  the  past,  Kagig.  Once  Armenia  was 
great,  remember  that !  You  must  not  only  talk  to  us,  you 
must  act  at  last!  We  summon  you  to  be  our  leader, 
Kagig,  son  of  Kagig  of  Zcitoon !" 

He  stared  back  at  them  with  burning  eyes — raised  both 
hands  to  beat  his  temples — and  then  suddenly  turned  the 
palms  of  his  hands  toward  the  roof  in  a  gesture  of  utter 
misery. 

"Oh,  my  people !" 

That  glimpse  he  betrayed  of  his  agony  was  but  a  mo- 
ment long.  The  fingers  closed  suddenly,  and  the  palms 
that  had  risen  in  helplessness  descended  to  his  knees 
clenched  fists,  heavy  with  the  weight  of  purpose. 

"What  have  you  done  with  the  ammunition?"  he  de- 
manded. 


114  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

"We  had  it  in  tlie  manure  nndcr  John  Zimisces'  cattle." 

"I  know  that.    Where  is  it  now  ?" 

"The  Turks  discovered  it  at  dawn  to-day.  Some  one 
had  told.  They  burned  Zimisces  and  his  wife  and  sons 
alive  in  the  straw  !" 

"You  fools !  They  knew  where  the  stuff  was  a  week 
ago !  A  month  ago  I  warned  you  to  send  it  to  Zeitoon, 
but  somebody  told  you  I  was  treacherous/  and  you  fools 
listened!     How  much  ammunition  have  you  left  now?" 

"Just  what  we  have  with  us.    I  have  a  dozen  rounds." 

"I  ten." 

"I  nine." 

"I  thirty-three." 

Each  man  had  a  handful,  or  two  handfuls  at  the  most. 
Kagig  observed  their  contributions  to  the  common  fund 
with  scorn  too  deep  for  expression.  It  was  as  if  the  very 
springs  of  speech  were  frozen. 

"We  summon  you  to  lead  us,  Kagig !" 

Words  came  to  him  again. 

"You  summon  me  to  lead?  I  will !  From  now  I  lead! 
By  the  God  who  gave  my  fathers  bread  among  the  moun- 
tains, I  will,  moreover,  be  obeyed !  Either  my  word  is 
Law—" 

"Kagig,  it  is  law !" 

"Or  back  you  shall  go  to  where  the  Turks  are  wearing 
white,  and  the  gutters  bubble  red,  and  the  beams  are  black 
against  the  sky !  You  shall  obey  me  in  future  on  the  in- 
stant tliat  I  speak,  or  run  back  to  the  Turks  for  mercy 
from  my  hand  !    I  have  listened  to  enough  talk !" 

".Spoken  like  a  man  !"  said  Monty,  and  stood  up. 

We  all  stood  up ;  even  Rustum  Khan,  who  did  not  pre- 
tend to  like  him,  saluted  the  old  warrior  who  could  an- 
nounce his  purpose  so  magnificently.    Maga  Jhaere  stood 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  115 

up,  and  sought  Will's  eyes  from  across  the  room.  Fred, 
almost  too  sleepy  to  know  what  he  was  doing  (  for  the  tail 
end  of  the  fevvir  is  a  yearuing  ^or  early  bed)  undid  the 
catch  of  his  beloved  instrument,  and  made  the  rafters 
ring.  In  a  minute  we  four  were  singing  "For  he's  a  jolly 
good  fellow,"  and  Kagig  stood  up,  looking  like  Robinson 
Crusoe  in  his  goat-skins,  to  acknowledge  the  compli- 
ment. 

The  noise  awoke  Peter  Measel,  and  when  we  had  fin- 
ished making  fools  of  ourselves  I  walked  over  to  dis- 
cover what  he  was  saying.  He  was  praying  aloud — na- 
sally— through  the  mouse-hole — for  us,  not  himself.  I 
looked  at  my  watch.    It  was  two  hours  past  midnight. 

"You  fellows,"  I  said,  "it's  Sunday.  The  martyred 
biped  has  just  waked  up  and  remembered  it.  He  is 
praying  that  we  may  be  forgiven  for  polluting  the  Sab- 
bath stillness  with  immoral  tunes  I" 

My  words  had  a  strange  effect.  Monty,  and  Fred,  and 
Will  laughdd.  Rustum  Khan  laughed  savagely.  But  all 
the  Armenians,  including  Kagig,  knelt  promptly  on  the 
floor  and  prayed,  the  gipsies  looking  on  in  mild  amuse- 
ment tempered  by  discretion.  And  out  of  the  mouse-hole 
in  the  horse-feed  bin  came  Peter  iMeasel's  sonorous, 
overriding  periods: 

"And,  O  Lord,  let  them  not  be  smitten  by  Thine  anger. 
Let  them  not  be  cut  down  in  Thy  wrath !  Let  them  not 
be  cast  into  hell !  Give  them  another  chance,  O  Lord ! 
Let  the  Ten  Commandments  be  written  on  their  hearts  in 
letters  of  fire,  but  let  not  their  souls  be  damned  for  ever 
more!  If  they  dirl  not  know  it  was  the  Sabbath  Day, 
O  Lord,  forj,Mvc  ihi-m  !     Amen!" 

It  was  a  most  amazing  night. 


LIBERA  NOS,  DOMINE! 

A  priest,  a  statcsnwn,  and  a  soldier  stood 
Hand  in  each  other's  hand,  by  ruin  faced. 
Consulting  to  find  succor  if  they  could. 
Till  soon  the  lesser  ones  iJiemselves  abased. 
Their  szvord  and  parchment  on  an  altar  laid 
In  deep  humility,  the  zi'Jiile  the  priest  lie  prayed. 

He  prayed  first  for  his  church,  that  it  might  he 
Upholden  and  acknowledged  and  revered, 
And  in  its  opal  tzvilight  men  might  see 
Salvation  if  in  truth  enough  they  feared, 
And  if  enough  aeknozvledginent  they  gave 
To  ritual,  and  rosary,  and  creed  that  save. 

Then  prayed  he  for  the  state,  that  it  should  ivean 
Well-tutored  counselors  to  do  their  part 
Full  profit  and  prosperity  to  glean 
IVith  dignity,  although  zvith  contrite  heart 
And  zi'isdoni  that  Tradition  wisdom  ranks. 
That  church  and  state  might  stand  and 
men  give  thanks. 

Last  prayed  he  for  the  soldier — longest,  too. 
That  all  the  honor  and  the  aims  of  zvar 
Subsej-z'ing  him  ■iuight  carry  zvrath  and  rue 
Unto  repentance,  and  in  trembling  azvc 
The  enemy  at  length  should  fault  confess 
And  yield,  to  crave  a  peace  of  righteousness. 

Behind  them  stood  a  patriot  unbozved, 

Not  arrogant  in  gilt  or  goodly  cloth, 

Nor  mincing  meek,  and  yet  not  poorly  proud; 

With  eyes  afire  that  glittered  not  zvith  ztrath;    '* 

Azvare  of  evil  hours,  and  undism-ayed 

Because  he  loved  too  zvell.    He  also  prayed. 


"Oh,  Thou,  tvho  gavcst,  vwy  I  also  give. 
Withholding  not — accepting  no  reward; 
For  I  die  gladly  if  the  least  ones  live. 
Tivice  righteous  and  tzvo-edged  be  the  sword, 
'Neath  freedom's  banner  drazvn  to  prove  Thy  word 
And  smite  me  if  I'm  false!"  His  prayer  was  heard. 


CHAPTER  SEVEN 
"JVe  hold  yoii  to  your  zvord!" 

THE  remainder  of  that  night  was  nightmare  pure 
and  simple — mules  and  horses  squealing  in  in- 
stinctive fear  of  action  they  felt  impending — gipsies  and 
Armenians  dragging  packs  out  on  the  floor,  to  repack 
everything  a  dozen  times  for  some  utterly  godless  rea- 
son— Rustum  Khan  seizing  each  fugitive  Armenian  in 
turn  to  question  him,  alternating  fierce  threats  with  per- 
suasion— Kagig  striding  up  and  down  with  hands  behind 
him  and  his  scraggly  black  beard  pressed  down  on  his 
chest — and  the  great  fire  blazing  with  reports  like  can- 
non shots  as  one  of  the  Turk's  sons  piled  on  fuel  and 
the  resinous  wet  wood  caught. 

The  Turk  and  his  other  six  sons  ran  away  and  hid 
themselves  as  a  precaution  against  our  taking  vengeance 
on  them.  With  situations  reversed  a  Turk  would  have 
taken  unbelievable  toll  in  blood  and  agony  from  any  Ar- 
menian he  could  find,  and  they  reasoned  we  were  prob- 
ably no  better  than  themselves.  The  marvel  was  that 
they  left  one  son  to  wait  on  us,  and  take  the  money  for 
room  and  horse-feed. 

"Remember !"  warned  Monty,  as  we  four  sidled  close 
together  with  our  backs  against  the  wall.  "Until  we're 
in  actual  personal  danger  this  trouble  is  the  affair  of 
Kagig  and  his  men !" 

"I  get  you.  H  we  horn  in  before  we  have  to  we'll  do 
more  harm  than  good.    Give  the  Turks  an  excuse  to  call 

118 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  119 

us  outlaws  and  shoot  instead  of  rescue  us.  Sure.  But 
what  about  Miss  Vanderman?"  said  Will, 

"I  foresee  she's  doomed !"  Fred  stared  straight  in  front 
of  him.  "It  looks  as  if  we'll  lose  our  little  Willy  tool 
One  woman  at  a  time,  especially  when  the  lady  totes  a 
mother-o'-pearl  revolver  and  about  a  dozen  knives!  If 
you  come  out  of  this  alive,  Bill,  3'ou'll  be  wiser !" 

"Fond  of  bull,  aren't  you !    You'd  jest  on  an  ant-heap." 

"There's  nothing  to  discuss,"  said  I.  "If  there's  a 
lady  in  danger  somewhere  ahead,  we  all  know  what  we're 
going  to  do  about  it." 

Monty  nodded. 

"If  we  can  find  her  and  get  word  to  the  consul,  that 
'ud  be  one  more  lever  for  him  to  pull  on." 

"D'you  suppose  they'd  dare  molest  an  Englishwoman  ?" 
I  asked,  with  the  sudden  goose-flesh  rising  all  over  me. 

"She's  American,"  said  Will  between  purposely  set 
lips.  But  I  did  not  see  that  that  qualified  the  unpleas- 
antness by  much. 

One  of  the  Armenians,  whom  Rustum  Khan  had  fin- 
ished questioning,  went  and  stood  in  Kagig's  way,  inter- 
cepting his  everlasting  sentry-go. 

"What  is  it,  Eflaton  ?" 

"My  wife,  Kagig!" 

"Ah !    I  remember  your  wife.     She  fed  me  often." 

"You  must  come  with  me  and  find  her,  Kagig — my 
wife  and  two  daughters,  who  fed  you  often !" 

"The  daughters  were  pretty,"  said  Kagig.  "So  was 
the  wife.  A  young  woman  yet.  A  brave,  good  woman. 
Always  she  agreed  with  me,  I  remember.  Often  I 
heard  her  urge  you  men  to  follow  mc  to  Zcitoon  and  help 
to  fortify  the  place!" 

"Will  you  leave  a  good  woman  in  the  hands  of  Turks, 
Kagig  ?    Come — come  to  the  rescue  !" 


J20  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

"It  is  too  bad,"  said  Kagig  simply.  "Such  women  suf- 
fer more  terribly  than  the  hags  who  merely  die  by  the 
sword.  Ten  times  by  the  count — during  ten  succeeding 
massacres  I  have  seen  the  Turks  sell  Armenian  wives 
and  daughters  at  auction.    I  am  sorry,  Eflaton." 

"Aly  God !"  groaned  Will.  "How  long  are  we  four 
loafers  going  to  sit  here  and  leave  a  white  woman  in 
danger  on  the  road  ahead  ?"  He  got  up  and  began  fold- 
ing his  blankets. 

The  Armenian  whom  Kagig  had  called  Eflaton  threw 
himself  to  the  floor  and  shrieked  in  agony  of  misery. 
Rustum  Khan  stepped  over  him  and  came  and  stood  in 
front  of  Monty. 

"These  men  are  fools,"  he  said.  "They  know  exactly 
\irhat  the  Turks  wnll  do.  They  have  all  seen  massacres 
before.  Yet  not  one  of  them  was  ready  when  the  hour 
set  for  this  one  came.  They  say — and  they  say  the 
■truth,  that  the  Turks  will  murder  all  Europeans  they 
catch  outside  the  mission  stations,  lest  there  be  true  wit- 
nesses afterward  whom  the  world  will  believe." 

"But  a  woman — scarcely  a  white  woman  ?"  This  from 
Will,  with  the  tips  of  his  ears  red  and  the  rest  of  his 
face  a  deathly  white. 

"Depending  on  the  woman,"  answered  Rustum  Khan. 
"Old — unpleasing — "  He  made  an  upward  gesture  with 
his  thumb,  and  a  noise  between  his  teeth  suggestive  of  a 
severed  wind-pipe.  "K  she  were  good-looking — I  have 
heard  say  they  pay  high  prices  in  the  interior,  say 
at  Kaisarieh  or  Mosul.  Once  in  a  harem,  who  would 
ever  know?  The  road  ahead  is  worse  than  dangerous. 
Whoever  wishes  to  save  his  life  would  do  best  to  turn 
back  now  and  try  to  ride  through  to  Tarsus." 

"Try  it,  then,  if  you're  afraid!"  sneered  Will,  iand  for 
^  moment  I  thought  the  Rajput  would  draw  steel. 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  121 

"I  know  what  this  lord  sahib  and  I  will  do,"  he  said, 
darkening  three  or  four  shades  under  his  black  beard. 
"It  was  for  men  bewitched  by  gipsy-women  that  I 
feared !" 

Will  was  standing.  Nothing  but  Monty's  voice  pre- 
vented blows.  He  rapped  out  a  string  of  sudden  rhet- 
oric in  the  Rajput's  ov.-n  guttural  tongue,  and  Rustum 
Khan  drew  back  four  paces. 

"Send  him  back,  Colonel  sahib !"  he  urged.  "Send  that' 
one  back!  He  and  Umm  Kulsum  will  be  the  death  of 
us !" 

Fred  went  off  into  a  peal  of  laughter  that  did  nothing 
to  calm  the  Rajput's  ruffled  temper. 

"Who  was  Umm  Kulsum?"  I  asked  him,  divining  the 
cause. 

"The  most  immoral  hag  in  Asian  legend !  The  aggre- 
gated essence  of  all  female  evil  personified  in  one  pro- 
curess !" 

"Say,  I'll  have  to  teach  that  gink—" 

Monty  got  up  and  stood  between  them,  but  it  was  a] 
new  alarm  that  prevented  blows.  A  fist-blow  in  the  Raj- 
put's face  would  have  meant  a  blood-feud  that  nothing 
less  than  a  man's  life  could  settle,  and  IMonty  looked 
worried. 

There  came  a  new  thundering  on  the  door  that  brough£ 
everybody  to  his  feet  as  if  murder  were  the  least  of  the 
charges  against  us.  Only  Kagig  appeared  at  ease  and 
unconcerned. 

"Open  to  them !"  he  shouted,  and  resumed  his  pacing 
to  and  fro. 

Our  Armenian  servants  ran  to  the  door,  and  in  a  min- 
ute returned  to  say  that  fifty  mounted  men  from  Zeitoon 
were  drawn  up  outside.  Kagig  gave  a  curt  laugh  and 
strode  across  to  us. 


122  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

"I  said  you  Eenglis  sportmen  should  see  good  sport." 

Monty  nodded,  with  a  hand  held  out  behind  him  to 
warn  us  to  keep  still. 

"I  said  you  shall  shoot  many  pigs !" 

"Lead  on,  then." 

"Turks  are  pigs !" 

Monty  did  not  answer.  To  have  disagreed  would 
have  been  like  flapping  a  red  cloth  at  a  tiger.  Yet  to  have 
agreed  with  him  at  once  might  have  made  him  jump  to 
false  conclusions.  The  consul's  last  words  to  us  had  been 
insistent  on  the  unwisdom  of  posing  as  anything  but 
hunters,  legitimately  entitled  to  protection  from  the  Turk- 
ish government. 

"I  would  like  you  gentlemen  for  allies  1" 

"You  are  our  servant  at  present." 

"Would  you  think  of  holding  me  to  that?"  demanded 
Kagig  with  a  gesture  of  extreme  irritation.  It  is  only 
the  West  that  can  joke  at  itself  in  the  face  of  crisis. 

"If  not  to  that,"  said  Monty  blandly,  "then  what 
agreements  do  you  keep?" 

Kagig  saw  the  point.  He  drew  a  deep  impatient  breatH 
iand  drove  it  out  again  hissing  through  his  teeth.  Then 
he  took  grim  hold  of  himself. 

"Effcndi,"  he  said,  addressing  himself  to  Monty,  but 
including  all  of  us  with  eyes  that  seemed  to  search  our 
hearts,  "you  are  a  lord,  a  friend  of  the  King  of  Eengland. 
If  I  were  less  than  a  man  of  my  word  I  could  make  you 
prisoner  and  oblige  your  friend  the  King  of  Eengland  to 
squeeze  these  cursed  Turks !" 

Rustum  Khan  heard  wliat  he  said,  and  made  noise 
enough  drawing  his  saber  to  be  heard  outside  the  kahveh, 
but  Kagig  did  not  turn  his  'head.  Three  gipsies  attended 
to  Rustum  Khan,  slipping  between  him  and  their  mas- 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  123 

ter,  and  our  four  Zeitoonii  servants  cautiously  approached 
the  Rajput  from  behind. 

"Peace !"  ordered  Monty.     "Continue,  Kagig." 

Kagig  held  both  hands  toward  Monty,  palms  upward, 
as  if  he  were  offering  the  keys  of  Hell  and  Heaven. 

"You  are  sportmen,  all  of  you.  Shall  I  keep  my  word 
to  you?    Or  shall  I  serve  my  nation  in  its  agony?" 

!Monty  glanced  swiftly  at  us,  but  we  made  no  sign. 
Will  actually  looked  away.  It  was  a  rule  we  four  had 
to  leave  the  playing  of  a  hand  to  whichever  member  of 
the  partnership  was  first  engaged ;  and  we  never  re- 
gretted it,  although  it  often  called  for  faith  in  one  an- 
other to  the  thirty-third  degree.  The  next  hand  might 
fall  to  any  other  of  us,  but  for  the  present  it  was  IMonty's 
play. 

"We  hold  you  to  your  word !"  said  Monty. 

Kagig  gasped.    "But  my  people !" 

"Keep  your  word  to  them  too!  Surely  you  haven't 
promised  them  to  make  us  prisoner?" 

"But  if  I  am  your  servant — if  I  must  obey  you  for 
two  piasters  a  day,  how  shall  I  serve  my  nation?" 

"Wait  and  see !"  suggested  Monty  blandly. 

Kagig  bowed  stiffly,  from  the  neck. 

"It  would  surprise  you,  effendi,"  he  said  grimly,  "to 
know  how  many  long  years  I  have  waited,  in  order  that 
I  may  see  what  other  men  will  do !" 

Monty  never  answered  that  remark.  There  came  <i 
yell  of  "Fire !"  and  in  less  than  ten  seconds  flames  began 
to  burst  through  the  door  that  shut  off  the  Turks*  private 
quarters,  and  to  lick  and  roar  among  the  roof  beams. 
The  animals  at  the  other  end  of  the  room  went  crazy, 
and  there  was  instant  panic,  the  Armenians  outside  try- 
ing to  get  in  to  help,  and  fighting  with  the  men  and  ani- 


124  THE  FA'E  OF  ZEITOON 

mats  and  women  and  children  who  choked  the  way.  Then 
the  hay  in  the  upper  story  caught  alight,  and  the  heat 
below  became  intolerable,  ]\Ionty  saw  and  instantly 
pounced  on  an  ax  and  two  crow-bars  in  the  corner. 

"Through  the  wall !"  he  ordered. 

Fred,  Will  and  I  did  that  work,  he  and  Kagig  looking 
on.  It  was  much  easier  than  at  first  seemed  likely.  Most 
of  the  stones  were  stuck  with  mud,  not  plaster,  and  when 
the  first  three  or  four  were  out  the  rest  came  easily.  In 
almost  no  time  we  had  a  great  gap  ready,  and  the  extra 
draft  we  made  increased  the  holocaust,  but  seemed  to  lift 
the  heat  higher.  Then  some  of  the  Zcitoonli  saw  the 
gap,  and  began  to  hurry  blindfolded  horses  through  it, 
and  in  a  very  little  while  the  place  seemed  empty.  I 
saw  the  Turkish  owner  and  several  of  his  sons  looking 
on  in  fatalistic  calm  at  about  the  outside  edge  of  the  ring 
of  light,  and  it  occurred  to  me  to  ask  a  question. 

"Hasn't  that  Turk  a  harem  ?"  I  asked. 

In  another  second  we  four  were  hurrying  around  the 
building,  and  Will  and  I  burst  in  the  door  at  the  rear  with 
our  crow-bars.  Monty  and  Fred  rushed  past  us,  and 
before  I  could  get  the  smoke  out  of  my  eyes  and  throat 
they  were  hurrying  out  again  with  two  old  women  in 
their  arms — the  women  screaming,  and  they  laughing  and 
coughing  so  that  they  could  hardly  run.  Then  W^ill  made 
my  blood  run  cold  with  a  new  alarm. 

"The  biped !"  he  shouted.  "The  Measel  in  the  corn- 
bin  !" 

They  dropped  the  old  ladies,  and  all  four  of  us  raced 
back  to  our  hole  in  the  wall — plunged  into  the  hell-hot 
building,  pulled  the  lid  off  the  corn-bin  (it  was  fastened 
like  an  ancient  Egyptian  coffin-lid  with  several  stout 
wooden  pegs),  dragged  Measel  out,  and  frog-marched 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  125 

him,  kicking  and  yelling,  to  the  open,  where  Fred  col- 
lapsed. 

"Measel,"  said  Will,  stooping  to  feel  Fred's  heart,  "if 
you're  the  cause  of  my  friend  Oakes'  death,  Lord  pity 
you!" 

Fred  sat  up,  not  that  he  wished  to  save  the  "biped" 
any  anguish,  but  the  wise  man  vomits  comfortably  when 
he  can,  the  necessity  being  bad  enough  without  addi- 
tional torment, 

"See  !"  said  a  voice  out  of  darkness.  "He  empties  him- 
self !  That  is  well.  It  is  only  the  end  of  the  fever.  Now 
he  will  be  a  man  again.  But  the  sahibs  should  have  left 
that  writer  of  characters  in  the  corn-bin,  where  he  could 
have  shared  the  fate  of  his  master  without  troubling  us 
again !" 

Rustum  Khan  strode  into  the  light,  with  half  his  fierce 
beard  burned  away  from  having  been  the  last  to  leave  by 
the  front  entrance,  and  a  decided  limp  from  having  been 
kicked  by  a  frantic  mule. 

"What  have  you  done  with  the  German?"  demanded 
Monty. 

"I,  sahib?  Nothing.  In  truth  nothing.  It  was  the 
seven  sons  of  the  Turk — abetted  I  should  say  by  gip- 
sies. It  was  the  German  who  set  the  place  alight.  The 
girl,  ]\Taga  Jhaere  they  call  her,  saw  him  do  it.  She 
watched  like  a  cat,  the  fool,  hoping  to  amuse  herself, 
while  he  burned  off  his  ropes  with  a  brand  that  fell  his 
way  out  of  the  fire.  When  another  brand  jumped  half 
across  the  room  he  set  the  place  alight  with  it,  tossing  it 
over  the  party  wall.   He  was  an  able  rascal,  sahib." 

"Was?"  demanded  Monty. 

"Aye,  sabib,  was!  In  another  second  he  released  the 
Turkish  lieutenant  and  shouted  in  his  ear  to  escape  and 


fl26  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

say  that  Armenians  burned  this  kahveh!  Gregor  Jhaere 
slew  the  Turk,  however.  And  Maga  followed  the  Ger- 
man into  the  open,  where  she  denounced  him  to  some  of 
the  Zeitoonii  who  recently  arrived.  They  took  him  and 
threw  him  back  into  the  fire — where  he  remained.  I  be- 
gin to  like  these  Zeitoonii.  I  even  like  the  gipsies  more 
than  formerly.  They  are  men  of  some  discernment, 
and  of  action !" 

"Man  of  blood  !"  growled  Monty,  "What  of  the  Turk- 
ish owner  and  his  seven  sons?" 

"They  shall  burn,  too,  if  the  sahib  say  so!" 
"I  f  they  burn,  so  shall  you  !  Where  is  Kagig  ?" 
"Seeing  that  the  sahibs'  horses  are  packed  and  sad- 
dled. I  came  to  find  the  sahibs.  According  to  Kagig  it 
is  time  to  go,  before  Turks  com.e  to  take  vengeance  for 
a  burned  road-house.  They  will  surely  say  Armenians 
burned  it,  whether  or  not  there  is  a  German  to  support 
their  accusation !" 

Then  we  heard  Kagig's  high-pitched  "Hatde — cJiabiik!" 
and  picked  up  Peter  Measel,  and  ran  around  the  build- 
ing to  where  the  horses  were  already  saddled,  and  squeal- 
ing in  fear  of  the  flames.  We  left  the  Turk,  and  his 
wives  and  seven  sons,  to  tell  what  tale  they  pleased. 


LO  HERE!    LO  THERE! 

Ye  shall  not  judge  men  by  the  drinks  they  take. 

Nor  by  unthinking  oath,  nor  zvhat  they  zvcar. 

For  look!  the  mitered  liars  protest  make 

And  drinking  know  they  lie,  and  knozving  szvear. 

No  oath  is  round  zvithout  the  rounded  fruit, 

Nor  pompous  promise  hides  the  ultimate. 

In  scarlet  as  in  overalls  and  tailored  suit 

To-morrow's  trucmen  and  the  traitors  zvait 

Untold  by  trick  of  bla::onry  or  voice. 

But  harvest  ripens  and  there  come  the  reaping  days 

When  each  shall  choose  one  path  to  bide  the  choice. 

And  ye  shall  knozo  men  when  tJiey  face  dividing  zvays. 


CHAPTER  EIGHT 

"/  go  until  that  7nan!'* 

TO  those  who  have  never  ridden  knee  to  knee  with 
outlaws  full  pelt  into  unknown  darkness,  with  a 
burning  house  behind,  and  a  whole  horizon  lit  with  the 
rolling  glow  of  murdered  villages,  let  it  be  written  that 
the  sensation  of  so  doing  is  creepy,  most  amazing  wild, 
and  not  without  unrighteous  pleasure. 

There  was  a  fierce  joy  that  burned  without  consuming, 
land  a  consciousness  of  having  crossed  a  rubicon.  Points 
of  view  are  left  behind  in  a  moment,  although  the  proof 
may  not  be  apparent  for  days  or  weeks,  and  I  reckon 
our  mental  change  from  being  merely  hunters  of  an  an- 
cient castle  and  big  game — tourists — trippers,  from  that 
hour.  As  we  galloped  behind  Kagig  the  mesmerism  of 
respect  for  custom  blew  away  in  the  wind.  We  became 
at  heart  outlaws  as  we  rode — and  one  of  us  a  privy  coun- 
cilor of  England ! 

The  women,  Maga  included,  were  on  in  front.  The 
night  around  and  behind  us  was  full  of  the  thunder  of 
fleeing  cattle,  for  the  Zeitoonli  had  looted  the  owner  of 
the  kahveh's  cows  and  oxen  along  with  their  own  beasts 
and  were  driving  them  helter-skelter.  The  crackling 
flames  behind  us  were  a  beacon,  whistling  white  in  the 
early  wind,  that  we  did  well  to  hurry  from. 

It  was  Monty  who  called  Kagig's  attention  to  the 
idiocy  of  tiring  out  the  cattle  before  dawn,  and  then 
Kagig  rode  like  an  arrow  until  he  could  make  the  gipsies 

128 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  129 

hear  him.  One  long  keening  shont  that  penetrated 
through  the  drum  of  hoofs  brought  them  to  a  walk,  but 
they  kept  Maga  in  front  with  them,  screened  from  our 
view  until  morning  by  a  close  line  of  mounted  women 
and  a  group  of  men.  The  Turkish  prisoners  were  all 
behind  among  the  fifty  Armenians  from  Zeitoon,  looking 
very  comfortless  trussed  up  on  the  mounts  that  nobody 
else  had  coveted,  with  hands  made  fast  behind  their 
backs. 

A  little  before  dawn,  when  the  saw-tooth  tips  of  the 
mountain  range  on  our  left  were  first  touched  with  opal 
and  gold,  we  turned  off  the  araha  track  along  which  we 
had  so  far  come  and  entered  a  ravine  leading  toward 
Marash.  Fred  was  asleep  on  horseback,  supported  be- 
tween Will  and  me  and  snoring  like  a  throttled  dog.  The 
smoke  of  the  gutted  kaJivch  had  dwindled  to  a  wisp  in 
the  distance  behind  us,  and  there  was  no  sight  or  sound 
of  pursuit. 

No  wheeled  vehicle  that  ever  man  made  could  have 
passed  up  this  new  track.  It  was  difficult  for  ridden 
horses,  and  our  loaded  beasts  had  to  be  given  time. 
We  seemed  to  be  entering  by  a  fissure  into  the  womb 
of  the  savage  hills  that  tossed  themselves  in  ever-in- 
creasing grandeur  up  toward  the  mist-draped  heights  of 
Kara  Dagh.  Oftener  than  not  our  track  was  obviously 
watercourse,  although  now  and  then  wc  breasted  higher 
levels  from  which  we  could  see,  through  gaps  between 
hill  and  forest,  backward  along  the  way  we  had  come. 
There  was  smoke  from  the  direction  of  Adana  that 
smudged  a  whole  sky-line,  and  between  that  and  the  sea 
about  a  dozen  sooty  columns  mushroomed  against  the 
clouds. 

There  was  not  a  mile  of  the  way  wc  came  that  did^ 


130  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

not  hold  a  hundred  hiding-places  fit  for  ambuscade,  but 
our  party  was  too  numerous  and  well-armed  to  need 
worry  on  that  account.  JMonty  and  Kagig  drew  ahead, 
quite  a  little  way  behind  the  gipsies  still,  but  far  in  front 
of  us,  who  had  to  keep  Fred  upright  on  his  horse. 

"My  particular  need  is  breakfast,"  said  I. 

"And  Will's  is  the  woman !"  said  Fred,  admitting  him- 
self awake  at  last.  Will  had  been  straining  in  the  stir- 
rups on  the  top  of  every  rise  his  horse  negotiated  ever 
since  the  sun  rose.  It  certainly  was  a  mystery  why  Maga 
should  have  been  spirited  away,  after  the  freedom  per- 
mitted her  the  day  before. 

"Rustum  Khan  has  probably  made  off  with  her,  or  cut 
her  head  ofT!"  remarked  Fred  by  way  of  offering  com- 
fort, yawning  with  the  conscious  luxury  of  having  slept. 
"I  don't  see  Rustum  Khan.  Let's  hope  it's  true!  That 
'ud  give  the  American  lady  a  better  chance  for  her  life  in 
case  we  should  overtake  her  !'* 

Will  and  Fred  have  always  chosen  the  most  awkward 
places  and  the  least  excuse  for  horseplay,  and  the  sleep 
seemed  to  have  expelled  the  last  of  the  fever  from  Fred's 
bones,  so  that  he  felt  like  a  schoolboy  on  holiday.  Will 
grabbed  him  around  the  neck  and  they  wrestled,  to  their 
horses'  infinite  disgust,  panting  and  straining  mightily 
in  the  effort  to  unseat  each  other.  It  was  natural  that 
Will  should  have  the  best  of  it,  he  being  about  fifteen 
years  younger  as  well  as  unweakened  by  malaria.  The 
men  of  Zeitoon  behind  us  checked  to  watch  Fred  rolled 
out  of  his  saddle,  and  roared  with  the  delight  of  fighting 
men  the  wide  world  over  to  see  the  older  campaigner 
suddenly  recover  his  balance  and  turn  the  tables  on  the 
younger  by  a  trick. 

And  at  that  very  second,  as  Will  landed  feet  first  on 
the  gravel  panting  for  breath,  Maga  Jhaere  arrived  full 


JHE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  .131 

gallop  from  the  rear,  managing  her  ugly  gray  stallion 
with  consummate  ease.  Her  black  hair  streamed  out  ia 
the  wind,  and  what  with  the  dew  on  it  and  the  slanting 
sun-rays  she  seemed  to  be  wearing  all  the  gorgeous  jewels 
out  of  Ali  Baba's  cave.  She  was  the  loveliest  thing  to 
look  at — unaffected,  unexpected,  and  as  untamed  as  the 
dawn,  with  parted  lips  as  red  as  the  branch  of  budding 
leaves  with  which  she  beat  her  horse. 

But  the  smile  turned  to  a  frown  of  sudden  passion  as 
she  saw  Will  land  on  the  ground  and  Fred  get  ready  for 
reprisals.  She  screamed  defiance — burst  through  the 
ranks  of  the  nearest  Zeitoonli — set  her  stallion  straight 
at  us — ^burst  between  Fred  and  me — beat  Fred  savagely 
across  the  face  with  her  sap-softened  branch — and 
wheeled  on  her  beast's  haunches  to  make  much  of  Will. 
He  laughed  at  her,  and  tried  to  take  the  whip  away.  See- 
ing he  was  neither  hurt  nor  indignant,  she  laughed  at 
Fred,  spat  at  him,  and  whipped  her  stalHon  forward  in 
pursuit  of  Kagig,  breaking  between  him  and  Monty  to 
pour  news  in  his  ear. 

"A  curse  on  Rustum  Khan  !"  laughed  Fred,  spitting  out 
red  buds.    "He  didn't  do  his  duty !" 

He  had  hardly  said  that  when  the  Rajput  came  spur- 
ring and  thundering  along  from  the  rear.  He  seemed  in 
no  hurry  to  follow  farther,  but  drew  rein  between  us  and 
saluted  with  the  semi-military  gesture  with  which  he  fa- 
vored all  who,  unlike  Monty,  had  not  been  Colonels  of 
Indian  regiments. 

"I  tracked  Umm  Kulsum  through  the  dark!"  he  an- 
nounced, rubbing  the  burned  nodules  out  of  his  singed 
beard  and  then  patting  his  mare's  neck.  "I  saw  her  ride 
away  alone  an  hour  before  you  reached  that  fork  in  the 
road  and  turned  up  this  watercourse.  'By  the  teclh  of 
God,'  said  I,  'wlien  a  good-looking  woman  leaves  a  party 


132  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

of  men  to  canter  alone  in  the  dark,  there  is  treason!*  and 
I  followed." 

I  offered  the  Rajput  my  cigarette  case,  and  to  my  sur- 
prise he  accepted  one,  although  not  without  visible  com- 
punction. As  a  Muhammadan  by  creed  he  was  in  theory 
without  caste  and  not  to  be  defiled  by  European  touch, 
but  the  practises  of  most  folk  fall  behind  their  profes- 
sions. A  hundred  yards  ahead  of  us  Maga  was  talking 
and  gesticulating  furiously,  evidently  railing  at  Kagig's 
wooden-headedness  or  unbelief.  Monty  sat  listening, 
saying  nothing. 

"What  did  you  see,  Rustum  Khan  ?"  asked  Fred. 

"At  first  very  little.  My  eyes  are  good,  but  that  gipsy- 
woman's  are  better,  and  I  was  kept  busy  following  her ; 
for  I  could  not  keep  close,  or  she  might  have  heard.  The 
noise  of  her  own  clumsy  stallion  prevented  her  from 
hearing  the  lighter  footfalls  of  my  mare,  and  by  that  I 
made  sure  she  was  not  expecting  to  meet  an  enemy.  'She 
rides  to  betray  us  to  her  friends !'  said  I,  and  I  kept  yet 
farther  behind  her,  on  the  alert  against  ambush." 

"Well?" 

"She  rode  until  dawn,  I  following.  Then,  when  the 
light  was  scarcely  born  as  yet,  she  suddenly  drew  rein  at 
an  open  place  where  the  track  she  had  been  following 
emerged  out  of  dense  bushes,  and  dismounted.  From 
behind  the  bushes  I  watched,  and  presently  I,  too,  dis- 
mounted to  hold  my  mare's  nostrils  and  prevent  her  from 
whinnying.  That  woman,  Maga  Jhaere,  knelt,  and  pawed 
about  the  ground  like  a  dog  that  hunts  a  buried  bone!'* 

In  front  of  us  Maga  was  still  arguing.  Suddenly  Kagig 
turned  on  her  and  asked  her  three  swift  questions,  bitten 
off  like  the  snap  of  a  closing  snuff-box  lid.  Whether  she 
answered  or  not  I  could  not  see,  but  Monty  was  smiling. 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  133 

"I  suspect  she  was  making  signals !"  growled  Riistum 
Khan.  "To  whom — about  what  I  do  not  know.  After  a 
little  while  she  mounted  and  rode  on,  choosing  unerringly 
a  new  track  through  the  bushes.  I  went  to  v;here  she 
had  been,  and  examined  the  ground  where  she  had  made 
her  signals.  As  I  say,  my  eyes  are  good,  but  hers  are 
better.  I  could  see  nothing  but  the  hoof-marks  of  her 
clumsy  gray  brute  of  a  stallion,  and  in  one  place  the  de- 
pressions on  soft  earth  where  she  had  knelt  to  paw  the 
ground !" 

Monty  was  beginning  to  talk  now.  I  could  see  him 
smiling  at  Kagig  over  Maga's  head,  and  the  girl  was 
growing  angry.  Rustum  Khan  was  watching  them  as 
closely  as  we  were,  pausing  between  sentences. 

"It  may  be  she  buried  something  there,  but  if  so  I  did 
not  find  it.  I  could  not  stay  long,  for  when  she  rode 
away  she  went  like  wind,  and  I  needed  to  follow  at  top 
speed  or  else  be  lost.  So  I  let  my  mare  feel  the  spurs 
a  time  or  two,  and  so  it  happened  that  I  gained  on  the 
woman ;  and  I  suppose  she  heard  me.  Whether  or  no, 
she  waited  in  ambush,  and  sprang  out  at  me  as  I  passed 
so  suddenly  that  I  know  not  what  god  of  fools  and 
drunkards  preserved  her  from  being  cut  down !  Not 
many  have  ridden  out  at  me  from  ambush  and  lived  to 
tell  of  it !  But  I  saw  who  she  was  in  time,  and  sheathed 
my  steel  again,  and  cursed  her  for  the  gipsy  that  she  half 
is.    The  other  half  is  spawn  of  Eblis!" 

A  hundred  yards  ahead  of  us  Kagig  had  reached  a  de- 
cision, but  it  seemed  to  be  not  too  late  yet  in  Maga's 
judgment  to  try  to  convert  him.  She  was  speaking  ve- 
hemently, passionately,  throwing  down  her  reins  to  ex- 
postulate with  both  hands. 

"Kagig  isn't  the  man  you'd   think   a  young   woman 


134  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

would  choose  to  be  familiar  with,"  Fred  said  quietly  to 
me,  and  I  wondered  what  he  was  driving  at.  He  is  al- 
ways observant  behind  that  superficial  air  of  mockery  he 
chooses  to  assume,  but  what  he  had  noticed  to  set  him 
thinking  I  could  not  guess. 

Rustum  Khan  threw  away  the  cigarette  I  had  given 
him,  and  went  on  with  his  tale. 

"That  woman  has  no  virtue." 

"How  do  you  know?"  demanded  Will. 

"She  laughed  when  I  cursed  her!  Then  she  asked  me 
what  I  had  seen." 

"What  did  you  say?" 

"To  test  her  I  said  I  had  seen  her  lover,  and  would 
know  him  again  by  his  smell  in  the  dark !" 

"What  did  she  say  to  that  ?" 

"She  laughed  again.  I  tell  you  the  woman  has  no 
shame!  Then  she  said  if  I  would  tell  that  tale  to  Kagig 
as  soon  as  I  see  him  she  would  reward  me  with  leave  to 
live  for  one  whole  week  and  an  extra  hour  in  which  to 
pray  to  the  devil — meaning,  I  suppose,  that  she  intends 
to  kill  me  otherwise.  Then  she  wheeled  her  stallion — the 
brute  was  trying  to  tear  out  the  muscles  of  my  thigh  all 
that  time — and  rode  away — and  I  followed — and  here 
I  am  1" 

"How  much  truth  is  there  in  your  assertion  that  you 
saw  her  lover?"  Will  demanded. 

"None.   I  but  said  it  to  test  her." 

"Why  in  thunder  should  she  want  it  believed?" 

"God  knows,  who  made  gipsies !" 

At  that  moment  the  advance-guard  rode  into  an  open 
meadow,  crossed  by  a  shallow,  singing  stream  at  which 
Kagig  ordered  a  halt  to  water  horses.   So  we  closed  up 


JHE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  135 

with  him,  and  he  repeated  to  us  what  he  had  evidently 
said  before  to  Monty. 

"Maga  says — I  let  her  go  scouting — she  says  she  met 
a  man  who  told  her  that  Miss  Gloria  Vanderman  and  a 
party  of  seven  were  attacked  on  the  road,  but  escaped, 
and  now  have  doubled  on  their  tracks  so  that  they  are  far 
on  their  return  to  Tarsus." 

Rustum  Khan  met  Monty's  eyes,  and  his  lips  moved 
silently. 

"What  do  you  know,  sirdar?"  ]\Ionty  asked  him. 

"The  woman  lies!" 

Maga  was  glaring  at  Rustum  Khan  as  a  leopardess 
eyes  an  enemy.  As  he  spoke  she  made  a  significant  ges- 
ture with  a  finger  across  her  throat,  which  the  Rajput, 
if  he  saw,  ignored. 

"To  what  extent?"  demanded  Kagig  calmly. 

"Wholly  !  I  followed  her.  She  met  no  man,  although 
she  pawed  the  ground  at  a  place  where  eight  ridden 
horses  had  crossed  soft  ground  a  day  ago." 

Kagig  nodded,  recognizing  truth — a  rather  rare  gift. 

If  the  Rajput's  guess  was  wrong  and  Maga  did  know 
shame,  at  any  rate  she  did  not  choose  that  moment  to 
betray  it. 

"( )h,  very  well!"  she  sneered.  "There  were  eight 
horses.  They  were  galloping.  The  track  was  nine  hours 
old." 

Kagig  nodded  without  any  symptom  of  annoyance  or 
reproach. 

"There  is  an  ancient  castle  in  the  hills  up  yonder,"  he 
said,  "in  which  there  may  be  many  Armenians  hiding." 

lie  took  it  for  granted  we  would  go  and  find  out,  and 
Maga  recognized  the  drift. 


136  JHE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

"Very  well,"  she  said.  "Let  that  one  go,  and  that  one/' 
pointing  at  Fred  and  me. 

"You'll  appreciate,  of  course,"  said  Monty,  "that  it's 
out  of  the  question  for  us  to  go  forward  until  we  know 
where  that  lady  is." 

Kagig  bowed  gravely. 

"I  am  needed  at  Zeitoon,"  he  answered. 

Then  Maga  broke  in  shrilly,  pointing  at  Will : 

"Take  that  one  for  hostage !"  she  advised.  "Bring  him 
along  to  Zeitoon.  Then  the  rest  will  follow !" 

Kagig  looked  gravely  at  her. 

"I  shall  take  this  one,"  he  answered,  laying  a  respect- 
ful hand  on  Monty's  sleeve.  "Effendi,  you  are  an  Eenglis 
lord.  Be  your  life  and  comfort  on  my  head,  but  I  need  a 
hostage  for  my  nation's  sake.  You  others — I  admit  the 
urgency — shall  hunt  the  missionary  lady.  If  I  have  this 
one" — again  he  touched  Monty — "I  know  well  you  will 
come  seeking  him!  You,  effendi,  you  understand  my — 
necessity  ?" 

Monty  nodded,  smiling  gravely.  There  was  a  fire  at 
the  back  of  Monty's  eyes  and  something  in  his  bearing 
I  had  never  seen  before. 

"Then  I  go  with  my  colonel  sahib !"  announced  Rustum 
Khan.    "That  gipsy  woman  will  kill  him  otherwise  !'* 

"Better  help  hunt  for  the  lady,  Rustum  Khan.'* 

"Nay,  colonel  sahib  bahadur — thy  blood  on  my  head ! 
I  go  with  thee — into  hell  and  out  beyond  if  need  be!" 

"You  fellows  agreeable?"  asked  Monty.  ^"There  is  no 
disputing  Kagig's  decision.   We're  at  his  mercy." 

"We've  got  to  find  Miss  Vanderman !"  said  Will. 

"You  are  not  at  my  mercy,  effendi,"  grumbled  Kagig. 
The  man  was  obviously  distressed.  "You  are  rather  at 
my  discretion.    I  am  responsible.    For  my  nation's  sake 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  137 

and  for  my  honor  I  dare  not  lose  you.  Who  has  not  seen 
how  a  cow  will  follow  the  calf  in  a  wagon?  So  in  your 
case,  if  I  hold  the  one — the  chief  one — tlie  noble  one — 
the  lord — the  cousin  of  the  Eenglis  king"  (Monty's  rank 
was  mounting  like  mercury  in  a  tube  as  Kagig  warmed 
to  the  argument) — "you  others  will  certainly  hunt  him 
up-hill  and  down-dale.  Thus  will  my  honor  and  my 
country's  cause  both  profit !" 

Monty  smiled  benignantly. 

"It's  all  one,  Kagig.  Why  lab®r  the  point?  I'm  going 
with  you.  Rustum  Khan  prefers  to  come  with  me." 
Kagig  looked  askance  at  Rustum  Khan,  but  made  no  com- 
ment. "One  hostage  is  enough  for  your  purpose.  Let 
me  talk  with  my  friends  a  minute." 

Kagig  nodded,  and  we  four  drew  aside. 

"Now,"  demanded  Fred,  who  knew  the  signs,  "what 
special  quixotry  do  you  mean  springing?" 

"Shut  up,  Fred.  There's  no  need  for  you  fellows  to 
follow  Kagig  another  yard.  He'll  be  quite  satisfied  if 
he  has  me  in  keeping.  That  will  serve  all  practical  pur- 
poses. What  you  three  must  do  is  find  Miss  Vanderman 
if  you  can,  and  take  her  back  to  Tarsus.  There  you  can 
help  the  consul  bring  pressure  to  bear  on  the  authorities." 

"Rot !"  retorted  Fred.  "Didums,  you're  drunk.  Where 
did  you  get  the  drink  ?" 

Monty  smiled,  for  he  held  a  card  that  could  out-trump 
our  best  one,  and  he  knew  it.  In  fact  he  led  it  straight 
away. 

"D'you  mean  to  say  you'd  consider  it  decent  to  find 
that  young  woman  in  the  mountains  and  drag  her  to 
Zcitoon  at  Kagig's  tail,  when  Tarsus  is  not  more  than 
tlirce  days'  ride  away  at  most?  You  know  the  Turks 
wouldn't  dare  touch  you  on  the  road  to  the  coast." 


138  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON" 

"For  that  matter,"  said  Fred,  "the  Turks  'ud  hardly- 
dare  touch  Miss  Vanderman  herself." 

"Then  leave  her  in  the  hills !"  grinned  Monty.  "Kagig 
tells  me  that  the  Kurds  are  riding  down  in  hundreds  from 
Kaisarich  way.  He  says  they'll  arrive  too  late  to  loot  the 
cities,  but  they're  experts  at  hunting  along  the  mountain 
range.  \Miy  not  leave  the  lady  to  the  tender  ministra- 
tions of  the  Kurds !" 

"One  'ud  think  you  and  Kagig  knew  of  buried  treas- 
ure !  Or  has  he  promised  to  make  you  Duke  of  Zeitoon?" 
asked  Will.  " 'Tisn't  right,  ]\Ionty.  You've  no  call  to 
force  our  hand  in  this  way." 

"Name  a  better  w^ay,"  said  Monty. 

None  of  us  could.  The  proposal  was  perfectly  logical. 
Three  of  us,  even  supposing  Kagig  should  care  to  lend 
us  some  of  his  Zeitoonli  horsemen,  would  be  all  too  few 
for  the  rescue  work.  Certainly  we  could  not  leave  a  lady 
unprotected  in  these  hills,  with  the  threat  of  plundering 
Kurds  overhanging.  If  we  found  her  we  could  hardly 
carry  her  off  up-country  if  there  were  any  safer  course. 

"Time — time  is  swift !"  said  Kagig,  pulling  out  a  watch 
like  a  big  brass  turnip  and  shaking  it,  presumably  to  en- 
courage the  mechanism. 

"The  fact  is,"  said  Monty,  drawing  us  farther  aside, 
for  Rustum  Khan  was  growing  restive  and  inquisitive, 
*T've  not  much  faith  in  Kagig's  prospects  at  Zeitoon.  He 
has  talked  to  me  all  along  the  road,  and  I  don't  believe 
he  bases  much  reliance  on  his  men.  He  counts  more  on 
holding  me  as  hostage  and  so  obliging  the  Turkish  gov- 
ernment to  call  off  its  murderers.  If  you  men  can  rescue 
that  lady  in  the  hills  and  return  to  Tarsus  you  can  serve 
Kagig  best  and  give  me  my  best  chance  too.  Hurry  back 
and  help  the  consul  raise  Cain !" 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  139 

That  dosed  the  arguments,  because  Maga  Jhaere 
slipped  past  Kagig  and  approached  us  with  the  obvious 
intention  of  listening.  She  had  discovered  a  knowledge 
of  Enghsh  scarcely  perfect  but  astonishingly  compre- 
hensive, which  she  had  chosen  to  keep  to  herself  when 
we  first  met — a  regular  gipsy  trick.  Fred  threw  down 
the  gauntlet  to  her,  uncovering  depths  of  distrust  that 
we  others  had  never  suspected  under  his  air  of  being 
amused, 

"Now,  miss !"  he  said,  striding  up  to  her.  "Let  us 
understand  each  other !  This  is  my  friend."  He  pointed 
to  Monty.  "If  harm  comes  to  him  that  you  could  have 
prevented,  you  shall  pay  1" 

]\Iaga  tossed  back  her  loose  coils  of  hair  and  laughed. 

"Never  fear,  sahib!"  Rustum  Khan  called  out.  "If 
ought  should  happen  to  my  Colonel  sahib  that  Umm 
Kulsum  shall  be  first  to  die.  The  women  shall  tell  of  her 
death  for  a  generation,  to  frighten  naughty  children !" 

"You  hear  that  ?"  demanded  Fred. 

Maga  laughed  again,  and  swore  in  some  outlandish 
tongue. 

"I  hear !  And  you  hear  this,  you  old — "  She  called 
Fred  by  a  name  that  would  make  the  butchers  wince  in 
the  abattoirs  at  Liverpool.  "If  anything  happens  to  that 
man," — she  pointed  to  Will,  and  her  eyes  blazed  with 
lawless  pleasure  in  his  evident  discomfort — "I  myself — • 
me — this  woman — I  alone  will  keel — keel — keel — torture 
first  and  afterwards  keel  your  friend  'at  you  call  Monty! 
I  am  Maga!  You  have  heard  me  say  what  I  will  do!  As 
for  that  Rustum  Khan — you  shall  never  see  him  no  more 


ever 


Kagig    pulled    out    the   enormous   watch    again.     lie 
seemed  oblivous  of  Maga's  threats — not  even  aware  that 


140  JHE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

she  had  spoken,  although  she  was  hissing  through  impu- 
dent dazzling  teeth  within  three  yards  of  him. 

"The  time,"  he  said,  "has  fleed — has  fled — ^has  flown. 
Now  we  must  go,  effendi!" 

"I  go  with  that  man !"  announced  Maga,  pointing  at 
Will,  but  obviously  well  aware  that  nothing  of  the  kind 
would  be  permitted. 

"Maga,  come !"  said  Kagig,  and  got  on  his  horse.  "You 
gentlemen  may  take  with  you  each  one  Zeitoonli  servant. 
No,  no  more.  No,  the  ammunition  in  your  pockets  must 
suffice.  Yes,  I  know  the  remainder  is  yours ;  come  then 
to  Zeitoon  and  get  it!  Haide — Haidc!  Mount!  Ride! 
//ai(/^,  ZeitoonU  !  To  Zeitoon  !   Chabuk!" 


WITH  NEW  TONGUES 

Oh,  hard  of  Avon,  thou  zvhose  measured  muse 
Most  szvectly  sings  Elizabethan  viezvs 
To  shame  ungentle  smiths  of  journalese 
With  thy  sublimest  verse,  what  words  are  these 
That  shine  amid  the  lines  like  jewels  set 
But  ere  thine  hour  no  bard  had  chosen  yet? 
Didst  thou  in  masterly  disdain  of  too  much  law 
Not  only  limn  the  truths  no  others  sazu 
But  also,  lord  not  slave  of  zvritten  word. 
Lend  ear  to  zvhat  no  other  poet  heard 
And,  liberal  minded  on  the  Mermaid  bench 
With  bozv  for  blade  and  chaff  for  serving  zvench 
Azvait  from  overseas  slang-slinging  Jack 
Who  brought  the  new  vocabulary  back? 


CHAPTER  NINE 
*'And  you  left  your  friend  to  help  me?" 

SO  we  three  stood  still  in  a  row  disconsolate,  with 
three  ragged  men  of  Zeitoon  holding  our  horses  and 
theirs,  and  watched  Monty  ride  away  in  the  midst  of 
Kagig's  motley  command,  he  not  turning  to  wave  back 
to  us  because  he  did  not  like  the  parting  any  better  than 
we  did,  although  he  had  pretended  to  be  all  in  favor  of  it. 

Kagig  had  left  us  one  mule  for  our  luggage,  and  the 
beast  was  unlikely  to  be  overburdened,  for  at  the  last 
minute  he  had  turned  surly,  and  as  he  sat  like  a  general 
of  division  to  watch  his  patch-and-string  command  go 
by  he  showed  how  Eye  of  Zeitoon  only  failed  him  for  a 
title  in  giving  his  other  eye — the  one  he  kept  on  us — too 
little  credit.  It  was  a  good-looking  crowd  of  irregulars 
that  he  reviewed,  and  every  bearded,  goat-skin  clad  vet- 
eran in  it  had  a  word  to  say  to  him,  and  he  an  answer — 
sometimes  a  sermon  by  way  of  answer.  But  he  saw  every 
item  that  we  removed  from  the  common  packs,  and 
sternly  reproved  us  when  we  tried  to  exceed  what  he 
considered  reasonable.  At  that  he  based  our  probable 
requirements  on  what  would  have  been  surfeit  of  encum- 
brance for  himself. 

"Empty  your  pockets,  effendim!"  he  ordered  at  last. 
"Six  cartridges  each  for  rifle,  and  six  each  for  pistol 
must  be  all.  Your  cartridges  I  know  they  are.  But  my 
people  are  in  extremity!" 

When  he  rode  away  at  last,  sitting  his  horse  in  the 

142 

'% 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  143 

fashion  of  a  Don  Cossack  and  shepherding  Maga  in 
front  of  him  because  she  kept  checking  her  gray  stalHon 
for  another  look  at  Will,  he  left  us  no  alternative  than 
to  take  to  the  mountains  swiftly  unless  we  cared  to 
starve.  We  watched  Monty's  back  disappear  over  a  rise, 
with  Rustum  Khan  close  behind,  and  then  Fred  signed 
to  one  of  the  three  Zeitoonli  to  lead  on. 

All  three  of  the  men  Kagig  had  left  with  us  were 
surly,  mainly,  no  doubt,  because  they  disliked  separation 
from  their  friends.  But  there  was  fear,  too,  expressed  in 
their  manner  of  riding  close  together,  and  in  the  fidgety 
way  in  which  they  watched  the  smoke  of  burning  Arme- 
nian villages  that  smudged  the  sky  to  our  left. 

"If  they  try  to  bolt  after  Kagig  and  leave  us  in  the 
lurch  I'm  going  to  waste  exactly  one  cartridge  as  a  warn- 
ing," Fred  announced.   "After  that — !" 

"Probably  Kagig  'ud  skin  them  if  they  turned  up  with- 
out us,"  remarked  Will. 

There  was  something  in  that  theory,  for  we  learned 
later  what  Kagig's  ferocity  could  be  when  driven  hard 
enough.  But  from  first  to  last  those  men  of  Zeitoon  never 
showed  a  symptom  of  treachery,  although  their  resent- 
ment at  having  to  turn  llicir  backs  toward  home  appeared 
to  deepen  hourly. 

With  strange  unreason  they  made  no  haste,  whereas 
we  were  in  a  frenzy  of  impatience ;  and  when  Fred 
sought  to  improve  their  temper  by  singing  the  songs  that 
had  hitherto  acted  like  charms  on  Kagig's  whole  com- 
mand, they  turned  in  their  saddles  and  cursed  him  for 
calling  attention  to  us. 

"Inch  goozek?"  demanded  one  of  them  (What  would 
you  like?),  and  with  a  gesture  tliat  made  the  blood  run 
cold  he  suggested  the  choice  between  hanging  antl  dis- 
embowelment. 


144  JHE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  ~ 

Will  solved  the  speed  problem  by  striving  to  pusH  past 
them  along  the  narrow  track ;  and  they  were  so  deter- 
mined to  keep  in  front  of  us  that  within  half  an  hour 
from  the  start  our  horses  were  sweating  freely.  Then 
we  began  to  climb,  dismounting  presently  to  lead  our 
horses,  and  all  notions  of  speed  went  the  way  of  other 
vanity. 

Several  times  looking  back  toward  our  right  hand  we 
caught  sight  of  Kagig's  string  threading  its  way  over  a 
rise,  or  passing  like  a  line  of  ants  under  the  brow  of  a 
gravel  bank.  But  they  were  too  far  away  to  discern 
which  of  the  moving  specks  might  be  Monty,  although 
Kagig  was  now  and  then  unmistakable,  his  air  of  author- 
ity growing  on  him  and  distinguishing  him  as  long  as  he 
kept  in  sight. 

We  saw  nothing  of  the  footprints  in  soft  earth  that 
Maga  had  read  so  offhandedly.  In  fact  we  took  another 
way,  less  cluttered  up  with  roots  and  bushes,  that  led 
not  straight,  but  persistently  toward  an  up-towering  crag 
like  an  eye-tooth.  Below  it  was  thick  forest,  shaped  like 
a  shovel  beard,  and  the  crag  stuck  above  the  beard  like  an 
old  man's  last  tooth. 

But  mountains  have  a  discouraging  way  of  folding 
and  refolding  so  that  the  air-line  from  point  to  point 
bears  no  relation  to  the  length  of  the  trail.  The  last  kites 
were  drooping  lazily  toward  their  perches  for  the  night 
when  we  drew  near  the  edge  of  the  forest  at  last,  and 
were  suddenly  brought  to  a  halt  by  a  challenge  from 
overhead.  We  could  see  nobody.  Only  a  hoarse  voice 
warned  us  that  it  was  death  to  advance  another  yard, 
and  our  tired  animals  needed  no  persuasion  to  stand  still. 

There,  under  a  protruding  lock  as  it  were  of  the  beard, 
we  waited  in  shadow  while  an  invisible  somebody,  whose 


JHE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  .145 

rifle  scraped  rather  noisily  against  a  branch,  eyed  every 
inch  of  us  at  his  leisure. 

"WTio  are  you?"  he  demanded  at  last  in  Armenian, 
iand  one  of  our  three  men  enlightened  him  in  long-drawn 
detail. 

The  explanation  did  not  satisfy.  We  were  told  to 
remain  exactly  where  we  were  until  somebody  else  w^as 
fetched.  After  twenty  minutes,  when  it  was  already 
pitch-dark,  we  heard  the  breaking  of  twigs,  and  low 
voices  as  three  or  four  men  descended  together  among 
the  trees.  Then  we  were  examined  again  from  close 
quarters  in  the  dark,  and  there  are  few  less  agreeable 
sensations.  The  goose-flesh  rises  and  the  clammy  cold 
sweat  takes  all  the  comfort  out  of  waning  courage. 

But  somebody  among  the  shadowy  tree-trunks  at  last 
seemed  to  think  he  recognized  familiar  attitudes,  and 
asked  again  who  we  might  be.  And,  weary  of  explana- 
tions that  only  achieved  delay  our  man  lumped  us  all  in 
one  invoice  and  snarled  irritably : 

"These  are  Americans !" 

The  famous  "Open  sesame"  that  unlocked  Ali  Baba's 
cave  never  worked  swifter  then.  Reckless  of  possible 
traps  no  less  than  five  men  flung  themselves  out  of  Cim- 
merian gloom  and  seized  us  in  welcoming  arms.  I  was 
lifted  from  the  saddle  by  a  man  six  inches  shorter  than 
myself,  whose  arms  could  have  crushed  me  like  an  insect. 

"We  might  have  known  Americans  would  bring  us 
help!"  he  panted  in  my  car.  His  breath  came  short  not 
from  eflort,  but  excitement. 

Fred  was  in  like  predicament.  I  could  just  see.  his 
shadow  struggling  in  the  embrace  of  an  enthusiastic  host, 
and  somewhere  out  of  sight  Will  was  answering  in  nasal 
indubitable  Yankee  the  questions  of  three  other  men. 


146  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

"This  way !  Conic  this  way !  Bring  the  horses,  oh, 
Zeitoonh !  Americans !  Americans !  God  heard  us — 
there  have  come  Americans !" 

Threading  this  and  that  way  among  tree-trunks  that 
to  our  unaccustomed  eyes  were  simply  shghtly  denser 
blots  on  blackness,  Will  managed  to  get  between  Fred 
and  me. 

"We're  all  of  us  Yankees  this  trip !"  he  whispered,  and 
I  knew  he  was  grinning,  enjoying  it  hugely.  So  often  he 
had  been  taken  for  an  Englishman  because  of  partner- 
ship with  us  that  he  had  almost  ceased  to  mind ;  but  he 
spared  himself  none  of  the  amusement  to  be  drawn  out 
of  the  new  turn  of  affairs,  nor  us  any  of  the  chaff  that 
we  had  never  spared  him. 

"Take  my  advice,"  he  said,  "and  try  to  act  you're 
Yanks  for  all  you've  got.  If  you  can  make  blind  men 
believe  it,  you  may  get  out  of  this  with  whole  skins !" 

I  expected  the  retort  discourteous  to  that  from  Fred, 
who  was  between  Will  and  me,  shepherded  like  us  by 
hard-breathing,  unseen  men.  But  he  was  much  too  subtly 
skilful  in  piercing  the  chain-mail  of  Will's  humor — even 
in  that  hour. 

"Sure !"  he  answered.  "I  guess  any  gosh-durned  rube 
in  these  parts  '11  know  without  being  told  what  neck  o* 
the  woods  I  hail  from.  Schenectady's  my  middle  name! 
I'm—" 

"Oh,  my  God!"  groaned  Will.  "We  don't  talk  that 
way  in  the  States.    The  missionaries — " 

"I'm  the  guy  who  put  the  *oh !'  in  Ohio !"  continued 
Fred.  "I'm  running  mate  to  Colonel  Cody,  and  I've  rid- 
den herd  on  half  the  cows  in  Hocuspocus  County,  Wis. ! 
I  can  sing  The  Star-Spanglcd  Banner  with  my  head  un- 
der water,  and  eat  a  chain  of  frank  forts  two  links  a  min- 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  14? 

ute !  I'm  the  riproaring  original  two-gun  man  from  Ta- 
bascoville,  and  any  gink  who  doubts  it  has  no  time  to  say 
his  prayers !" 

There  were  paragraphs  more  of  it,  delivered  at  un- 
even intervals  between  deep  gasps  for  breath  as  we  made 
unsteady  progress  up-hill  among  roots  and  rocks  left  pur- 
posely for  the  confusion  of  an  enemy.  At  first  it  filled 
Will  with  despair  that  set  me  laughing  at  him.  Then 
Will  threw  seriousness  to  the  winds  and  laughed  too,  so 
that  the  spell  of  impending  evil,  caused  as  much  as  any- 
thing by  forced  separation  from  Alonty,  was  broken. 

But  it  did  better  than  put  us  in  rising  spirits.  It  con- 
vinced the  Armenians!  That  foolish  jargon,  picked  up 
from  comic  papers  and  the  penny  dreadfuls,  convinced 
more  firmly  than  any  written  proof  the  products  of  the 
mission  schools,  whose  one  ambition  was  to  be  American 
themselves,  and  whose  one  pathetic  peak  of  humor  was 
the  occasional  glimpse  of  United  States  slang  dropped 
for  their  edification  by  missionary  teachers ! 

"By  Jimminy !"  remarked  an  Armenian  near  me. 

"Gosh-all-hemlocks !"  s3id  another. 

Thenceforward  nothing  undermined  their  faith  in  us. 
Plenty  of  amused  repudiation  was  very  soon  forthcoming 
from  another  source,  but  it  passed  over  their  heads. 
Fred  and  I,  because  we  used  fool  expressions  without 
relation  to  the  context  or  proportion,  were  established 
as  the  genuine  article;  Will,  perhaps  a  rather  doubtful 
quantity  with  his  conservative  grammar  and  quiet  speech, 
was  accepted  for  our  sakcs.  They  took  an  arm  on  either 
side  of  us  to  help  us  up  the  hill,  and  in  proof  of  heart- 
to-heart  esteem  shouted  "Oopsidaisy !"  when  we  stumbled 
in  the  pitchy  dark.  When  we  were  brought  to  a  stand  at 
last  by  a  snarled  challenge  and  the  click  of  rifles  over- 


148  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

head,  they  answered  with  the  chorus  of  Ta-ra-ra-hoom- 
ie-ay,  a  classic  that  ought  to  have  died  an  unnatural 
death  almost  a  quarter  of  a  century  before. 

Suddenly  we  smelt  Standard  oil,  and  a  man  emerged 
through  a  gap  in  ancient  masonry  less  than  six  feet  away 
carrying  a  battered,  cheap  "hurricane"  lantern  whose 
cracked  glass  had  been  reenforced  with  patches  of  brown 
paper.  He  was  armed  to  the  teeth — literally.  He  had  a 
long  knife  in  his  mouth,  a  pistol  in  his  left  hand,  and  a 
rifle  slung  behind  him,  but  after  one  long  look  at  us,  hold- 
ing the  lantern  to  each  face  in  turn,  he  suddenly  dis- 
carded all  appearances  of  ferocity. 

"You  know  about  pistols?"  he  demanded  of  me  in 
English,  because  I  was  nearest,  and  thrust  his  Mauser 
repeater  under  my  nose.  "Why  won't  this  one  work?  I 
have  tried  it  every  way." 

"Lordy !"  remarked  Will. 

"Lead  on  in !"  I  suggested.  Then,  remembering  my 
new  part,  "It'll  have  to  be  some  defect  if  one  of  us  can't 
fix  it!" 

The  gap-guard  purred  approval  and  swung  his  lantern 
by  way  of  invitation  to  follow  him  as  he  turned  on  a 
naked  heel  and  led  the  way.  We  entered  one  at  a  time 
through  a  hole  in  the  wall  of  what  looked  like  the  dun- 
geon of  an  ancient  castle,  and  followed  him  presently  up 
the  narrow  stone  steps  leading  to  a  trap-door  in  the  floor 
above.  The  trap-door  was  made  of  odds  and  ends  of 
planking  held  in  place  by  weights.  When  he  knocked  on 
it  with  the  muzzle  of  his  rifle  we  could  hear  men  lifting 
things  before  they  could  open  it. 

When  a  gap  appeared  overhead  at  last  there  was  no 
blaze  of  light  to  make  us  blink,  but  a  row  of  heads  at  each 
edee  of  the  hole  with  nothing  but  another  lantern  some- 


THE  E\^  OF  ZEITOON  149 

where  in  the  gloom  behind  them.  One  by  one  we  went 
up  and  they  made  way  for  us,  closing  in  each  time  to  scan 
the  next-comer's  face ;  and  when  we  were  all  up  they  laid 
the  planks  again,  and  piled  heavy  stones  in  place.  Then 
an  old  man  lighted  another  lantern,  using  no  match,  al- 
though there  was  a  box  of  them  beside  him  on  the  floor, 
but  transferring  flame  patiently  with  a  blade  of  dry  grass. 
Somebody  else  lit  a  torch  of  resinous  wood  that  gave  a 
good  blaze  but  smoked  abominably. 

"What  has  become  of  our  horses?"  demanded  Fred, 
looking  swiftly  about  him. 

We  were  in  a  great,  dim  stone- walled  room  whose  roof 
showed  a  corner  of  star-lit  sky  in  one  place.  There  were 
twenty  men  surrounding  us,  but  no  woman.  Two  trade- 
blankets  sewn  together  with  string  hanging  over  an  open- 
ing in  the  wall  at  the  far  end  of  the  room  suggested, 
nevertheless,  that  the  other  sex  might  be  within  ear-shot. 

"The  horses?"  Fred  demanded  again,  a  bit  peremp- 
torily. 

One  of  the  men  who  had  met  us  smirked  and  made 
apologetic  motions  with  his  hands. 

"They  will  be  attended  to,  cffcndl — " 

*T  know  it !  I  guarantee  it !  By  the  ace  of  brute  force, 
if  a  horse  is  missing — !    Arabaiji !" 

One  of  our  three  Zeitoonli  stepped  forward. 

"Take  the  other  two  men,  Arabaiji,  and  go  down  to 
the  horses.  Groom  them.  Feed  them.  If  any  one  pre- 
vents you,  return  and  tell  mc."  Then  he  turned  to  our 
hosts.  "Some  natives  of  Somaliland  once  ate  my  horse 
for  supper,  but  I  learned  that  lesson.  So  did  they!  I 
trust  I  needn't  be  severe  with  you!" 

There  was  no  furniture  in  the  room,  except  a  mat  at 
one  corner.     They  were  standing  all  about  us,  and  per- 


150  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

fectly  able  to  murder  us  if  so  disposed,  but  none  made 
any  effort  to  restrain  our  Zeitoonli. 

"Now  we're  three  to  their  twenty!"  I  whispered,  and 
Will  nodded.  But  Fred  carried  matters  with  a  high 
hand. 

"Send  a  man  down  with  them  to  show  them  where  the 
horses  are,  please!" 

There  seemed  to  be  nobody  in  command,  but  evidently 
one  man  was  least  of  all,  for  they  all  began  at  once  to 
order  him  below,  and  he  went,  grumbling. 

"You  see,  eifcndi,  we  have  no  meat  at  all,"  said  the 
man  who  had  spoken  first. 

"But  you  don't  look  hungry,"  asserted  Fred. 

They  were  a  ragged  crowd,  unshaven  and  not  too 
clean,  with  the  usual  air  of  men  whose  only  clothes  are 
on  their  backs  and  have  been  there  for  a  week  past.  All 
sorts  of  clothes  they  wore — odds  and  ends  for  the  most 
part,  probably  snatched  and  pulled  on  in  the  first  mo- 
ment of  a  night  alarm. 

"Not  yet,  effendi.  But  we  have  no  meat,  and  soon  we 
shall  have  eaten  all  the  grain." 

"Well,"  said  Fred,  "if  you  need  horse-meat,  gosh  durn 
you,  take  it  from  the  Turks!" 

"Gosh  durn  you !"  grinned  three  or  four  men,  nudging 
one  another. 

They  were  lost  between  a  furtive  habit  born  of  hiding 
for  dear  life,  a  desire  to  be  extremely  friendly,  and  a  new 
suspicion  of  Fred's  high  hand.  Fred's  next  words  added 
disconcertment. 

"Where  is  Miss  Vanderman?"  he  demanded,  suddenly. 

Before  any  one  had  time  to  answer  Will  made  a  swift 
move  to  the  wall,  and  took  his  stand  where  nobody  could 
get  behind  him.    He  did  not  produce  his  pistol,  but  there 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  151 

was  that  in  his  eye  that  suggested  it.  I  followed  suit,  so 
that  in  the  event  of  trouble  we  stood  a  fair  chance  of 
protecting  Fred. 

"What  do  you  mean?"  asked  three  Armenians  to- 
gether. 

"Did  you  never  see  men  try  to  cover  a  secret  before?'* 
Will  whispered. 

"Or  give  it  away?"  I  added.  Six  of  the  men  placed 
themselves  between  Fred  and  the  opening  where  the 
blankets  hung,  ostentatiously  not  looking  at  the  blankets. 

"Have  you  an  American  lady  with  you?"  Fred  asked, 
and  as  he  spoke  he  reached  a  hand  behind  him.  But  it 
was  not  his  pistol  that  he  drew.  He  carries  his  concer- 
tina slung  to  him  by  a  strap  with  the  care  that  some  men 
lavish  on  a  camera.  He  took  it  in  both  hands,  and  loosed 
the  catch. 

"Have  you  an  American  lady  named  Miss  Vanderman 
with  you  ?"  he  repeated. 

"Effendi,  we  do  not  understand." 

He  repeated  in  Armenian,  and  then  in  Turkish,  but 
they  shook  their  heads. 

"Very  well,"  he  said,  "Fll  soon  find  out.  A  mission- 
school  pupil  might  sing  My  Country,  'Tis  of  Thcc  or 
Sinvannee  River  or  Poor  Blind  Joe.  You  know  Poor 
Blind  Jnc,  eh  ?  Sung  it  in  school  ?  I  thought  so.  I'll  bet 
you  don't  know  this  one." 

He  filled  his  impudent  instrument  with  wind  and  forth- 
with the  belly  of  that  ancient  castle  rang  to  the  strains  of 
a  tune  no  missionaries  sing,  although  no  doubt  the  mis- 
sionary ladies  are  familiar  with  it  yet  from  where  the 
Arctic  night  shuts  down  on  P.ehring  Sea  to  the  Solomon 
Islands  and  beyond — a  song  that  achieved  poi)ularity  by 
lacking  national  significance,  and  won  a  war  by  imparting 


152  THE  EYE  OE  ZEITOON 

recklessness  to  typhus  camps.  I  was  certain  then,  and 
still  dare  bet  to-day  that  those  ruined  castle  walls  re- 
echoed for  the  first  time  that  evening  to  the  clamor  of 
" — a  hot  time  in  the  old  town  to-night !" 

Seeing  the  point  in  a  flash,  we  three  roared  the  song 
together,  and  then  again,  and  then  once  more  for  inter- 
est, the  Armenians  eying  us  spell-bound,  at  a  loss  to  ex- 
plain the  madness.  Then  there  began  to  be  unexplained 
movements  behind  the  blanket  hanging;  and  a  minute 
later  a  woman  broke  through — an  unmistakable  Armen- 
ian, still  good-looking  but  a  little  past  the  prime  of  life, 
and  very  obviously  mentally  distressed.  She  scarcely 
took  notice  of  us,  but  poured  forth  a  long  flow  of  rhet- 
oric interspersed  with  sobs  for  breath.  I  could  see  Fred 
chuckling  as  he  listened.  All  the  facial  warnings  that 
a  dozen  men  could  make  at  the  woman  from  behind 
Fred's  back  could  not  check  her  from  telling  all  she  knew. 

Nor  were  Will  and  I,  who  knew  no  Armenian,  kept  in 
doubt  very  long  as  to  the  nature  of  her  trouble.  We 
heard  another  woman's  voice,  behind  two  or  three  sets 
of  curtains  by  the  sound  of  it,  that  came  rapidly  nearer ; 
and  there  were  sounds  of  scuffling.  Then  we  heard 
words. 

"Please  play  that  tune  again,  whoever  you  are!  Do 
you  hear  me  ?    Do  you  understand  ?" 

"Boston !"  announced  Will,  diagnosing  accents. 

"You  bet  your  life  I  understand!"  Fred  shouted,  and 
clanged  through  half  a  dozen  bars  again. 

That  seemed  satisfactory  to  the  owner  of  the  voice. 
The  scuffling  was  renewed,  and  in  a  moment  she  had 
burst  through  the  crude  curtains  with  two  women  cling- 
ing to  her,  and  stood  there  with  her  brown  hair  falling 
on  her  shoulders  and  her  dress  all  disarrayed  but  looking 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  153 

simply  serene  in  contrast  to  the  women  who  tried  to  re- 
strain her.  They  tried  once  or  twice  to  thrust  her  back 
through  the  curtain,  although  clearly  determined  to  do 
her  no  injury;  but  she  held  her  ground  easily.  At  a 
rough  guess  it  was  tennis  and  boating  that  had  done 
more  for  her  muscles  than  ever  strenuous  housework  did 
for  the  Armenians. 

"Who  are  you?"  she  asked,  and  Will  laughed  with 
delight. 

"I  reckon  you'll  be  Aliss  Vanderman  ?"  suggested  Fred 
in  outrageous  Yankee  accent.    She  stared  hard  at  him, 

"I  am  Miss  Vanderman.    Who  are  you,  please?" 

I  sat  down  on  the  great  stone  they  had  rolled  over  the 
trap,  for  even  in  that  flickering,  smoky  light  I  could  see 
that  this  young  woman  was  incarnate  loveliness  as  well 
as  health  and  strength.  W^ill  was  our  only  ladies'  man 
(for  Fred  is  no  more  than  random  troubadour,  decamp- 
ing before  any  love-aflfair  gets  serious).  The  thought 
conjured  visions  of  Maga,  and  what  she  might  do.  For 
about  ten  seconds  my  head  swam,  and  I  could  hardly 
keep  my  feet. 

Will  left  the  opening  bars  of  the  overture  to  Fred, 
with  rather  the  air  of  a  man  who  lets  a  trout  have  line. 
And  Fred  blundered  in  contentedly. 

"I'll  allow  my  name  is  Oakes — Fred  Oakcs,"  he  said. 

"Please  explain !"  She  looked  from  one  to  the  other 
of  us. 

"We  three  are  American  towcrists,  going  the  grand 
trip."  (Remember,  a  score  of  Armenians  were  listening. 
Fred's  intention  was  at  least  as  much  to  continue  their 
contentment  as  to  extract  humor  from  the  situation.) 
"You  l)cing  reported  missing  we  allowed  to  pick  you  up 
and  run  you  in  to  Tarsus.  Air  you  agreeable?" 


154  JHE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

The  women  were  still  clinging  to  her  as  if  their  whole 
future  depended  on  keeping  her  prisoner,  yet  without 
hurt.  She  looked  down  at  them  pathetically,  and  then  at 
the  men,  who  were  showing  no  disposition  to  order  her 
release. 

"I  don't  understand  in  the  least  yet.  I  find  you  be- 
wildering. Can  you  contrive  to  let  us  talk  for  a  few 
minutes  alone  ?" 

"You  bet  your  young  life  I  can  !" 

Fred  stepped  to  the  wall  beside  us,  but  we  none  of  us 
drew  pistol  yet.  We  had  no  right  to  presume  we  were  not 
among  friends. 

"Thirty  minutes  interlude !"  he  announced.  "The  man 
who  stands  in  this  room  one  minute  from  now,  or  who 
comes  back  to  the  room  without  my  leave,  is  not  my 
friend,  and  shall  learn  what  that  means !" 

He  repeated  the  soft  insinuation  in  Armenian,  and 
then  in  Turkish  because  he  knows  that  language  best. 
There  is  not  an  Armenian  who  has  not  been  compelled 
to  learn  Turkish  for  all  official  purposes,  and  uncon- 
sciously they  gave  obedience  to  the  hated  conquerors* 
tongue,  repressing  the  desire  to  argue  that  wells  per- 
ennially in  Armenian  breasts.  They  had  not  been  long 
enough  enjoying  stolen  liberty  to  overcome  yet  the  full 
effects  of  Turkish  rule. 

"And  oblige  me  by  leaving  that  lady  alone  with  us!" 
Fred  continued.    "Let  those  dames  fall  away !" 

Somebody  said  something  to  the  women.  Another 
Armenian  remarked  more  or  less  casually  that  we  should 
be  unable  to  escape  from  the  room  in  any  case.  The 
others  rolled  the  great  stone  from  the  trap  and  shoved 
the  smaller  stones  aside,  and  then  they  all  filed  down  the 
stone  stairs,  leaving  us  alone — although  by  the  trembling 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  155 

blankets  it  was  easy  to  tell  that  the  women  had  not  gone 
far.  The  last  man  who  went  below  handed  the  splutter- 
ing torch  to  Miss  Vanderman,  as  if  she  might  need  it  to 
defend  herself,  and  she  stood  there  shaking  it  to  try  and 
make  it  smoke  less  until  the  planks  were  back  in  place. 
She  was  totally  unconscious  of  it,  but  with  the  torch- 
light gleaming  on  her  hair  and  reflected  in  her  blue  eyes 
she  looked  like  the  spirit  of  old  romance  come  forth  to 
start  a  holy  war. 

"Now  please  explain !"  she  begged,  when  I  had  pushed 
the  last  stone  in  place.  "First,  what  kind  of  Americans 
can  you  possibly  be  ?  Do  3'ou  all  use  such  extraordinary 
accents,  and  such  expressions?" 

"Don't  I  talk  American  to  beat  the  band?"  objected 
Fred.  "Sit  down  on  this  rock  a  while,  and  I'll  convince 
you." 

She  sat  on  the  rock,  and  we  gathered  round  her.  She 
was  not  more  than  twenty-two  or  three,  but  as  perfectly 
assured  and  fearless  as  only  a  well-bred  woman  can  be 
in  the  presence  of  unshaven  men  she  does  not  know. 
Fred  would  have  continued  the  tomfoolery,  but  Will 
oared  in. 

"I'm  Will  Yerkes,  Miss  Vanderman." 

"Oh !" 

"I  know  Nurse  Vanderman  at  the  mission." 

"Yes,  she  spoke  of  you." 

"Fred  Oakes  here  is — " 

"Is  English  as  they  make  them,  yes,  I  know !  Why  the 
amazing  efforts  to — " 

"I  stand  abashed,  like  the  leopard  with  the  spots  un- 
changeable !"  said  Fred,  and  grinned  most  unashamedly. 

"They're  both  English." 

"Yes,  I  see,  but  why—" 


156  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

"It's  only  as  good  Americans  that  we  three  could  hope 
to  enter  here  alive.  They're  death  on  all  other  sorts  of 
non-Armenians  now  they've  taken  to  the  woods.  We 
supposed  you  were  here,  and  of  course  we  had  to  come 
and  get  you." 

She  nodded.  "Of  course.  But  how  did  you  know?" 

"That's  a  long  story.  Tell  us  first  why  you're  here, 
and  why  you're  a  prisoner." 

"I  was  going  to  the  mission  at  Marash — to  stay  a  year 
there  and  help,  before  returning  to  the  States.  They 
warned  me  in  Tarsus  that  the  trip  might  be  dangerous, 
but  I  know  how  short-handed  they  are  at  Marash,  and  I 
wouldn't  listen.  Besides,  they  picked  the  best  men  they 
could  find  to  bring  me  on  the  way,  and  I  started.  I  had 
a  Turkish  permit  to  travel — a  teskere  they  call  it — see, 
I  have  it  here.  It  was  perfectly  ridiculous  to  think  of  my 
not  going." 

"Perfectly!"  Fred  agreed.  "Any  young  woman  in 
your  place  would  have  come  away  1" 

She  laughed,  and  colored  a  trifle.  "Women  and  men 
are  equals  in  the  States,  Mr.  Oakes." 

"And  the  Turk  ought  to  know  that!  I  get  you,  Miss 
Vanderman  !   I  see  the  point  exactly  !'* 

"At  any  rate,  I  started.  And  we  slept  at  night  in  the 
houses  of  Armenians  whom  my  guides  knew,  so  that  the 
journey  wasn't  bad  at  all.  Everything  was  going  splen- 
didly until  we  reached  a  sort  of  crossroads — if  you  can 
call  those  goat-tracks  roads  without  stretching  truth  too 
far — and  there  three  men  came  galloping  toward  us  on 
blown  horses  from  the  direction  of  Marash.  We  could 
hardly  get  them  to  stop  and  tell  us  what  the  trouble  was, 
they  were  in  such  a  hurry,  but  I  set  my  horse  across  the 
path  and  we  held  them  up." 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  '  15? 

"As  any  young  lady  would  have  done!"  Fred  mur- 
mured. 

"Never  mind.  I  did  it !  They  told  us,  when  they  could 
get  their  breath  and  quit  looking  behind  them  like  men 
afraid  of  ghosts,  that  the  Turks  in  Marash — which  by 
all  accounts  is  a  very  fanatical  place — had  started  to 
murder  Armenians.   They  yelled  at  me  to  turn  and  run. 

"  'Run  where  ?'  I  asked  them.  *The  Turks  won't  mur- 
der me !' 

"That  seemed  to  make  them  think,  and  they  and  my 
six  men  all  talked  together  in  Armenian  much  too  fast 
for  me  to  understand  a  word  of  it.  Then  they  pointed 
to  some  smoke  on  the  sky-line  that  they  said  was  from 
burning  Armenian  homes  in  Marash. 

"  'Why  didn't  you  take  refuge  in  the  mission?'  I  asked 
them.  And  they  answered  that  it  was  because  the  mis- 
sion grounds  were  already  full  of  refugees. 

"Well,  if  that  were  true — and  mind  you,  I  didn't  be- 
lieve it — it  was  a  good  reason  why  I  should  hurry  there 
and  help.  If  the  mission  staff  was  overworked  before 
that  they  would  be  simply  overwhelmed  now.  So  I  told 
them  to  turn  round  and  come  to  Marash  with  me  and  my 
six  men." 

"And  what  did  they  say?"  we  demanded  together. 

"They  laughed.  They  said  nothing  at  all  to  me.  Per- 
haps they  thought  I  was  mad.  They  talked  together  for 
five  minutes,  and  then  without  consulting  me  they  seized 
my  bridle  and  galloped  up  a  goat-path  that  led  after  a 
mo.'^t  interminable  ride  to  this  place." 

"Where  they  hold  you  to  ransom?" 

"Not  at  all.  They've  been  very  kind  to  me.  I  think 
that  at  the  bottom  of  their  thoughts  there  may  be  some 
idea  of  exchanging  me  for  some  of  their  own  women 


158  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

Avhom  the  Turks  have  made  away  with.  But  a  stronger 
motive  than  that  is  the  determination  to  keep  me  safe 
and  be  able  to  produce  me  afterward  in  proof  of  their 
bona  fides.  They've  got  me  here  as  witness,  for  another 
thing.  And  then,  I've  started  a  sort  of  hospital  in  this 
old  keep.  There  are  literally  hundreds  of  men  and  women 
hiding  in  these  hills,  and  the  women  are  beginning  to 
come  to  me  for  advice,  and  to  talk  with  me.  I'm  pretty 
nearly  as  useful  here  as  I  would  be  at  Marash." 

"And  you're — let's  see — nineteen — twenty — one — two 
— not  more  than  twenty-two,"  suggested  Fred. 

"Is  intelligence  governed  by  age  and  sex  in  England?" 
she  retorted,  and  Fred  smiled  in  confession  of  a  hit. 

"Go  on,"  said  Will   "Tell  us." 

"There's  nothing  more  to  tell.  When  I  started  to  run 
toward  the — ah — music,  the  women  tried  to  prevent  me. 
They  knew  Americans  had  come,  and  they  feared  you 
might  take  me  away." 

"They  were  guessing  good !"  grinned  Will. 

She  shook  her  head,  and  the  loosened  coils  of  hair  fell 
lower.  One  could  hardly  have  blamed  a  man  who  had 
desired  her  in  that  lawless  land  and  sought  to  carry  her 
off.  The  Armenian  men  must  have  been  temptation 
proof,  or  else  there  had  been  safety  in  numbers. 

"I  shall  stay  here.  How  could  I  leave  them?  The 
women  need  me.  There  are  babies — daily — almost  hourly 
— here  in  these  lean  hills,  and  no  organized  help  of  any 
kind  until  I  came." 

"How  long  have  you  been  here?"  I  asked. 

"Nearly  two  days.  Wait  till  I've  been  here  a  week  and 
you'll  see." 

"We  can't  wait  to  see!"  Will  answered.    "We've  a 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  159 

friend  of  our  own  in  a  tight  place.  The  best  we  can  do 
is  to  rescue  you — " 

"I  don't  need  to  be  rescued !" 

" — to  rescue  you — take  you  back  to  Tarsus,  where 
you'll  be  safe  until  the  trouble's  over — and  then  hurry  to 
the  help  of  our  own  man." 

"Who  is  your  own  man?    Tell  me  about  him." 

"He's  a  prince." 

"Really?" 

"No,  really  an  earl — Earl  of  Montdidier.  White. 
White  all  through  to  the  wish-bone.  Whitest  man  I  ever 
camped  with.   He's  the  goods." 

"If  you'd  said  less  I'd  have  skinned  you  for  an  in- 
grate !"  Fred  announced.   "Monty  is  a  man  men  love." 

^liss  Vanderman  nodded.    "Where  is  he?" 

"On  the  way  to  a  place  called  Zeitoon,"  answered  Will. 
"He's  a  hostage,  held  by  Armenians  in  the  hope  of  put- 
ting pressure  on  the  Turks.  Kagig — the  Armenians,  that's 
to  say — let  us  go  to  rescue  you,  knowing  that  he  was 
sufficiently  important  for  their  purpose." 

"And  you  left  your  friend  to  help  me?'* 

"Of  course.   What  do  you  suppose?" 

"And  if  I  were  to  go  with  you  to  Tarsus,  what  then?" 

"He  says  we're  to  ride  herd  on  the  consulate  and 
argue." 

"Will  you  ?" 

"Sure  we'll  argue.  We'll  raise  particular  young  hell. 
Then  back  we  go  to  Zeitoon  to  join  him!" 

"Would  you  have  gone  to  Tarsus  except  on  my  ac- 
count?" 

Will  hesitated. 

"No.   I  sec.   Of  course  you  wouldn't.   Well.   What  do 


160  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

you  take  me  for?  You  did  not  know  me  then.  You  do 
now.  Do  you  think  I'd  consent  to  your  leaving  your  fine 
friend  in  pawn  while  you  dance  attendance  on  me? 
Thank  you  kindly  for  your  offer,  but  go  back  to  him! 
If  you  don't  I'll  never  speak  to  one  of  you  again  I" 


THESE  LITTLE  ONES 

//  Life  were  zvhat  the  liars  say 

And  failure  called  the  tune 

Mayhap  the  road  to  ruin  then 

Were  cluttered  deep  zvi'  broken  men; 

We'd  all  he  seekers  blindly  led 

To  weave  wi'  worms  among  the  dead, 

If  Life  zvere  what  the  liars  say 

'And  failure  called  the  tune. 

But  Life  is  Father  of  us  all 
(Dear  Father,  if  zve  kneiv!) 
And  iindcrneath  eternal  arms 
Uphold.    JVe'll  mock  the  false  alarms. 
And  trample  on  the  neck  of  pain. 
And  laugJi  the  dead  alive  again. 
For  Life  is  Father  to  us  all. 
And  thanks  are  overdue! 

If  Truth  were  what  the  learned  say 
And  envy  called  the  tune 
Mayhap  'twere  true  zvhat  treason  saith 
That  man  is  dust  and  ends  in  death; 
We'd  slay  with  proof  of  printed  law 
Whute'er  zvas  new  that  seers  saw. 
If  Truth  were  what  the  learned  say 
And  envy  called  the  tune. 

But  Truth  is  Brother  of  us  all 
(Oh,  Brother,  if  we  knciv!) 
Unspattcred  by  the  muddied  lies 
That  pass  for  zcisdom  of  the  zcise, — 
Compassionate,  alert,  unbought, 
Of  purity  and  presence  zvronght, — 
Big  Brother  that  includes  us  all 
Nor  knows  the  name  of  Fczo! 


If  Lore  were  7vhnt  the  harlots  say 
And  hunger  called  the  tune 
Mayhap  zoe'd  need  conserve  the  joys 
Weighed  grudgingly  to  girls  and  boys. 
And  eat  the  angels  trapped  and  sold 
By  shriven  priests  for  stolen  gold. 
If  Love  zverc  ivhat  the  harlots  say 
And  hunger  called  the  tune. 

But  Love  is  Mother  of  us  all 
(Dear  Mother,  if  zve  knezv!) — 
So  zvise  that  not  a  sparrow  falls, 
Nor  friendless  in  the  prison  calls 
Uncomforted  or  nncaressed. 
There's  magic  milk  at  Mercy's  breast, 
And  little  ones  shall  lead  us'all 
When  True  Love  calls  the  tune! 


CHAPTER  TEN 
"When  I  fire  this  pistol—" 

NATURALLY,  being  what  we  were,  with  our  friend 
■Monty  held  in  durance  by  a  chief  of  outlaws,  we 
were  perfectly  ready  to  kidnap  Miss  Vanderman  and  ride 
off  with  her  in  case  she  should  be  inclined  to  delay  pro- 
ceedings. It  was  also  natural  that  we  had  not  spoken  of 
that  contingency,  nor  even  considered  it. 

"We  never  dreamed  of  your  refusing  to  come  with 
us,"  said  Will. 

"We  still  don't  dream  of  it!"  Fred  asserted,  and  she 
turned  her  head  very  swiftly  to  look  at  him  with  level 
brows.  Next  she  met  my  eyes.  If  there  was  in  her  con- 
sciousness the  slightest  trace  of  doubt,  or  fear,  or  admis- 
sion that  her  sex  might  be  less  responsible  than  ours,  she 
did  not  show  it.  Rather  in  the  blue  eyes  and  the  athletic 
poise  of  chin,  and  neck,  and  shoulders  there  was  a  dignity 
beyond  ours. 

Will  laughed. 

"Don't  let's  be  ridiculous,"  she  said.  "I  shall  do  as  I 
see  fit." 

Fred's  neat  beard  has  a  trick  of  losing  something  of  its 
trim  when  he  jiroposes  to  assert  himself,  and  1  recog- 
nized the  sym]Jtoms.  But  at  the  moment  of  that  impasse 
the  Armenians  below  us  had  decided  that  self-assertion 
was  their  cue,  and  there  came  great  noises  as  they  thun- 
dered with  a  short  i)ole  on  the  trap  and  made  the  stones 
jump  that  held  it  down. 

163 


164  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

At  that  signal  several  women  emerged  from  behind 
the  hanging  blankets — young  and  old  women  in  various 
states  of  disarray — and  stood  in  attitudes  suggestive  of 
aggression.  One  did  not  get  the  idea  that  Armenians, 
men  or  women,  were  sheeplike  pacifists.  They  watched 
Miss  Vanderman  with  the  evident  purpose  of  attacking  us 
the  moment  she  appealed  to  them. 

"If  you  don't  roll  the  stones  away  I  think  there'll  be 
trouble,"  she  said,  and  came  and  stood  between  Will  and 
me.  Fred  got  behind  me,  and  began  to  whisper.  I  heard 
something  or  other  about  the  trap,  and  supposed  he  was 
asking  me  to  open  it,  although  I  failed  to  see  why  the 
request  should  be  kept  secret ;  but  the  women  forestalled 
me,  and  in  a  moment  they  had  the  stones  shoved  aside 
and  the  men  were  emerging  one  by  one  through  the 
opening. 

Then  at  last  I  got  Fred's  meaning.  There  was  a 
second  of  indecision  during  which  the  Armenians  con- 
sulted their  women-folk,  in  two  minds  between  snatching 
Miss  Vanderman  out  of  our  reach  or  discovering  first 
what  our  purpose  might  be.  I  took  advantage  of  it  to 
slip  down  the  stone  stairs  behind  them. 

The  opening  in  the  castle  wall  was  easy  to  find,  for  the 
star-lit  sky  looked  luminous  through  the  hole.  Once  out- 
side, however,  the  gloom  of  ancient  trees  and  the  castle's 
shadow  seemed  blacker  than  the  dungeon  had  been.  I 
groped  about,  and  stumbled  over  loose  stones  fallen  from 
the  castle  wall,  until  at  last  one  of  our  own  Zeitoonli 
discovered  me  and,  thinking  I  might  be  a  trouble-maker, 
tripped  me  up.  Cursing  fervently  from  underneath  his 
iron-hard  carcass  I  made  him  recognize  me  at  last.  Then 
he  offered  me  tobacco,  unquestionably  stolen  from  our 
pack,  and  sat  down  beside  me  on  a  rock  while  I  recovered 
breath. 


,THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  165 

It  took  longer  to  do  that  than  he  expected,  for  he 
had  enjoyed  the  advantage  of  surprise  while  hampered 
by  no  compunctions  on  the  ground  of  moderation.  When 
the  agony  of  windlessness  Avas  gone  and  I  could  question 
him  he  assured  me  that  the  horses  were  well  enough, 
but  that  he  and  his  two  companions  were  hungry.  Fur- 
thermore, he  added,  the  animals  were  very  closely 
watched — so  much  so  that  the  other  two,  Sombat  and 
Noorian,  w^ere  standing  guard  to  watch  the  watchers. 

"But  I  am  sure  they  are  fools,"  he  added. 

This  man  Arabaiji  had  been  an  excellent  servant,  but 
decidedly  supercilious  toward  the  others  from  the  time 
when  he  first  came  to  us  in  the  khan  at  Tarsus.  Regard- 
ing himself  as  intelligent,  which  he  was,  he  usually  re- 
fused to  concede  that  quality,  or  anything  resembling  it, 
to  his  companions. 

"That  is  why  I  was  looking  for  you  when  you  hit  me 
in  the  dark  with  that  club  of  a  fist  of  yours,"  I  answered. 
"I  wanted  to  speak  with  you  alone  because  I  know  you 
are  not  a  fool." 

He  felt  so  flattered  that  he  promptly  let  his  pipe  go  out. 

"While  Sombat  and  Noorian  are  keeping  an  eye  on 
the  horses,  I  want  you  to  watch  for  trouble  up  above 
here,"  I  said,  "In  case  the  people  of  this  place  should 
seek  to  make  us  prisoner,  then  I  want  you  to  gallop,  if 
you  can  get  your  horse,  and  run  otherwise,  to  the  near- 
est—" 

He  checked  me  with  a  gesture  and  one  word. 

"Kagig!" 

"What  about  him?"  T  demanded. 

"If  I  were  to  bring  Turks  here,  Kagig  would  never 
rest  until  my  fingers  were  pulled  off  one  by  one!" 

"If  you  were  to  bring  Turks  here,  or  appeal  to  Turks," 
said  I,  "Kagig  would  never  get  you." 


166  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

"How  not  ?" 

"Unless  he  should  find  your  dead  carcass  after  my 
friends  and  I  had  finished  with  it !" 

"What  then  ?" 

He  lighted  his  pipe  again  by  way  of  reestablishing 
himself  in  his  own  esteem,  and  it  glowed  and  crackled 
wetly  in  the  dark  beside  me  in  response  to  the  workings 
of  his  intelligence. 

"In  case  of  trouble  up  here,  and  our  being  held  pris- 
oner, go  and  find  other  Armenians,  and  order  them  in 
Kagig's  name  to  come  and  rescue  us." 

"Those  who  obey  Kagig  are  with  Kagig,"  he  answered. 

"Surely  not  all  ?" 

"All  that  Kagig  could  gather  to  him  after  eleven 
years !" 

"In  that  case  go  to  Kagig,  and  tell  him." 

"Kagig  would  not  come.   He  holds  Zeitoon." 

"Are  you  a  fool  ?" 

"Not  I !  The  other  two  are  fools." 

"Then  do  you  understand  that  in  case  these  people 
should  make  us  prisoner — " 

He  nodded.  "They  might.  They  might  propose  to  sell 
you  to  the  Turks,  perhaps  against  their  own  stolen 
women-folk." 

"Then  don't  you  see  that  if  you  were  gone,  and  I  told 
them  you  had  gone  to  bring  Kagig,  they  would  let  us  go 
rather  than  face  Kagig's  wrath?" 

"But  Kagig  would  not  come." 

"I  know  that.    But  how  should  they  know  it?" 

I  knew  that  he  nodded  again  by  the  motion  of  the 
glowing  tobacco  in  his  pipe.  It  glowed  suddenly  bright, 
as  a  new  idea  dawned  on  him.  He  was  an  honest  fellow, 
and  did  not  conceal  the  thought. 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  167 

*'Kagig  would  not  send  me  back  to  you,"  he  said.  "He 
is  short  of  men  at  Zeitoon." 

"Never  mind,"  said  I.  "In  case  of  trouble  up  above 
here,  but  not  otherwise,  will  you  do  that  ?" 

"Gladly,  But  give  it  me  in  writing,  lest  Kagig  have  me 
beaten  for  running  from  you  without  leave." 

That  was  my  turn  to  jump  at  a  proposal.  I  tore  a  sheet 
from  my  memorandum  book,  and  scribbled  in  the  dark, 
knowing  he  could  not  read  what  I  had  written. 

"This  writing  says  that  you  did  not  run  away  until 
you  had  made  quite  sure  we  were  in  difficulties.  So,  if 
you  should  run  too  soon,  and  we  should  not  be  in  dif- 
ficulties after  all,  Kagig  would  learn  that  sooner  or  later. 
What  would  Kagig  do  in  that  case  ?" 

"He  would  throw  me  over  the  bridge  at  Zeitoon — if 
he  could  catch  me !   Nay !   I  play  no  tricks." 

"Good.  Then  go  and  hide.  ?Iide  within  call.  Within 
an  hour,  or  at  most  two  hours  we  -shall  know  how  the 
land  lies.  If  all  should  be  well  I  will  change  that  writing 
for  another  one,  and  send  you  to  Kagig  in  any  case.  No 
more  words  now — go  and  hide  !" 

He  put  his  pipe  out  with  his  thumb,  and  took  two 
strides  into  a  shadow,  and  was  gone.  Then  I  went  back 
through  the  gap  in  the  dungeon  wall,  and  stumbled  to 
the  stairs.  Apparently  not  missing  me  yet,  they  had  cov- 
ered up  the  trap,  and  I  had  to  haninier  on  it  for  admis- 
sion. They  were  not  pleased  when  my  head  appeared 
through  the  hole,  and  they  realized  that  I  had  probably 
held  communication  with  our  men.  I  suppose  Fred  saw 
by  my  face  that  I  had  accomplished  what  I  went  for,  be- 
cause he  let  out  a  laugh  like  a  fox's  bark  that  did  noth- 
ing toward  lessening  the  tension. 

On  the  other  hand  it  was  quite  clear  that  during  my 


168  JHE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

absence  Jiliss  Vanderman  had  not  been  idle.  Excepting 
the  two  men  who  had  admitted  me,  every  one  was  seated 
— she  on  the  floor  among  the  women,  with  her  back  to  the 
wall,  and  the  rest  in  a  semicircle  facing  them.  Two  of 
the  women  had  their  arms  about  her,  affectionately,  but 
not  without  a  hint  of  who  controlled  the  situation. 

"What  have  you  been  doing?"  Fred  demanded,  and  he 
laughed  at  Gloria  Vanderman  with  an  air  of  triumph. 

"Making  preparations,"  I  said,  "to  take  Miss  Vander- 
man to  Tarsus." 

I  wish  I  could  set  down  here  a  chart  of  the  mixed  emo- 
tions then  expressed  on  that  young  lady's  face.  She  did 
not  look  at  Will,  knowing  perhaps  that  she  already  had 
him  captive  of  her  bow  and  spear.  Neither  did  W^ill  look 
at  us,  but  sat  tracing  figures  with  a  forefinger  in  the  dust 
between  his  knees,  wondering  perhaps  how  to  excuse  or 
explain,  and  getting  no  comfort. 

If  my  guess  was  correct,  Gloria  Vanderman  was  about 
equally  distracted  between  the  alternative  ignominy  of 
submitting  her  free  will  to  Armenians  or  else  to  us.  Com- 
passion for  the  women  in  their  predicament  weighed  one 
way — knowledge  that  our  friend  A'lonty  was  in  durance 
vile  contingent  on  her  actions  pulled  heavily  another. 
Fred  was  frankly  enjoying  himself,  which  influenced 
her  strongly  toward  the  Armenian  side,  she  being  young 
and,  doubtless  the  idol  of  a  hundred  heart-sick  Amer- 
icans, contemptuous  of  forty-year-old  bachelors. 

"Of  course  we  shall  not  let  you  go !"  one  of  the  Arme- 
nians assured  her  in  quite  good  English,  and  I  began 
fumbling  at  the  pistol  in  my  inner  pocket,  for  if  Arabaiji 
was  to  run  to  Zeitoon,  then  the  sooner  the  better.  But 
it  needed  only  that  imputation  of  helplessness  to  tip  the 
beam  of  Miss  Gloria's  judgment. 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  169 

"You  can  attend  to  the  sick  ones.  You  can  play  music 
for  us  all.  Doubtless  these  other  two  have  qualifications." 

I  was  too  busy  admiring  Gloria  to  know  what  effect 
that  announcement  had  on  Fred  and  Will.  She  shook 
herself  free  from  the  women,  and  stood  up,  splendid  in 
the  flickering  yellow  light.  There  was  a  sort  of  swift 
move  by  every  one  to  be  ready  against  contingencies,  and 
I  judged  it  the  right  moment  to  spring  my  own  surprise. 

"When  I  fire  this  pistol,"  I  said,  producing  it,  "a  man 
will  start  at  once  for  Zeitoon  to  warn  Kagig.  He  has  a 
note  in  his  pocket  written  to  Kagig,  Judge  for  yourselves 
how  long  it  will  take  Kagig  and  his  men  to  reach  this 
place !" 

The  nearest  man  made  a  very  well-judged  spring  at  me 
and  pinned  my  elbows  from  behind.  Another  man 
knocked  the  pistol  from  my  hand.  The  women  seized 
Gloria  again.  But  Fred  was  too  quick — drew  his  own 
pistol,  and  fired  at  the  roof. 

"Twice,  Fred !"  I  shouted,  and  he  fired  again. 

"There!"  said  I.  "Do  what  you  like.  The  messenger 
has  gone !" 

And  then  Gloria  shook  herself  free  a  last  time,  and 
took  command. 

"Is  that  true?"  she  demanded. 

I  nodded.  "The  best  of  our  three  men  was  to  start 
on  his  way  the  minute  he  heard  the  second  shot." 

Then  I  was  sure  she  was  Boadicea  reincarnate, 
whether  the  old-time  British  queen  did  or  did  not  have 
blue  eyes  and  brown  hair. 

*T  will  not  have  brave  men  brought  back  here  on  my 
account!  Kagig  must  be  a  patriot!  He  needs  all  his 
men !  I  don't  blame  him  for  making  a  hostage  of  Lord 
Montdidier !    I  would  do  the  same  myself  !" 


i;0  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

Will  had  evidently  given  her  a  pretty  complete  synop- 
sis of  our  adventure  while  I  was  outside  talking  with 
Arabaiji.  It  is  always  a  mystery  to  the  British  that  Amer- 
icans should  hold  themselves  a  race  apart  and  rally  to 
each  other  as  if  the  rest  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  were 
foreigners,  but  those  two  had  obeyed  the  racial  rule. 
They  understood  each  other — swiftly — a  bar  and  a  half 
ahead  of  the  tune. 

"This  old  castle  is  no  good !"  she  went  on,  not  raising 
her  voice  very  high,  but  making  it  ring  with  the  whole- 
someness  of  youth,  and  youth's  intolerance  of  limits. 
"The  Turks  could  come  to  this  place  and  burn  it  within 
a  day  if  they  chose!" 

"The  Turks  won't  trouble.  They'll  send  their  friends 
the  Kurds  instead,"  Fred  assured  her. 

"Ah-h-h-gh!"  growled  the  Armenians,  but  she  waved 
them  back  to  silence. 

"How  much  food  have  you  ?  Almost  none !  How 
much  ammunition  ?" 

"Ah-h-h-h !"  they  chorused  in  a  very  different  tone  of 
yoice. 

"D'you  mean  you've  got  cartridges  here?"  Fred  de- 
manded. 

"Fifty  cases  of  cartridges  for  government  Mauser 
rifles !"  bragged  the  man  who  was  nearest  to  Will. 

"Gee !  Kagig  'ud  give  his  eyes  for  them  !'*  (Will  de- 
voted his  eyes  to  the  more  poetic  purpose  of  exchanging 
flashed  encouragement  with  Gloria.) 

"i\Ien,  women  and  children — how  many  of  you  are 
there?" 

"Who  knows?  Who  has  counted?  They  keep  corn- 
mg. 

"No,  they  don't.    You've  set  a  guard  to  keep  any  more 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  171 

away  for  fear  the  food  won't  last — I  know  you  have! 
Well — what  does  it  matter  how  many  you  are?  I  say 
let  us  all  go  to  Zeitoon  and  help  Kagig !" 

"Oh,  bravo!"  shouted  Fred,  but  it  was  Will's  praise 
that  proved  acceptable  and  made  her  smile. 

"Second  the  motion !" 

I  added  a  word  or  two  by  way  of  make-weight,  that 
did  more  as  a  matter  of  fact  than  her  young  ardor  to 
convince  those  very  skeptical  men  and  women.  No  doubt 
she  broke  up  their  determination  to  sit  still,  but  it  was 
my  words  that  set  them  on  a  course. 

"Kagig  will  be  angry  when  he  comes.  He's  a  ruthless 
man,"  said  I,  and  the  Armenians,  men  as  well  as  women, 
sought  one  another's  eyes  and  nodded. 

"Kagig  must  be  more  of  a  ruthless  bird  than  we 
guessed !"  Will  whispered. 

Counting  women,  there  was  less  than  a  score  of  refu- 
gees in  the  room,  and  if  we  had  only  had  them  to  con- 
vince, our  work  was  pretty  nearly  done.  There  was  the 
guard  among  the  trees  down-hill  that  we  knew  about 
still  to  be  converted,  or  perhaps  coerced.  But  just  at 
the  moment  when  we  felt  we  held  the  winning  hand,  there 
came  a  ladder  thrust  down  through  the  hole  in  the  corner 
of  the  roof,  and  a  man  whom  they  all  greeted  as  Eph- 
raim  began  to  climb  down  backward.  He  was  so  loaded 
with  every  imaginable  kind  of  weapon  that  he  made  more 
noise  than  a  tinker's  cart. 

Nor  was  Ephraim  the  only  new  arrival.  Man  after 
man  came  flown  backward  after  him,  each  man  cursed 
richly  for  treading  on  his  predecessor's  fingers — a  seem- 
ing endless  chain  of  men  lliat  <Hd  not  cease  when  the 
room  was  already  uncomfortably  overcrowded.  Some  of 
these  men  wore  clothes  that  suggested  Russia,  but  the 


172  .THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

« 

majority  were  in  rags.  The  ladder  swayed  and  creaked 
under  them,  and  finally,  at  a  word  from  Ephraim,  the 
last-comers  sat  on  the  upper  rungs,  bending  the  frail  thing 
with  their  weight  into  a  complaining  loop. 

Several  of  the  newcomers  had  torches,  and  their  acrid 
smoke  turned  the  twice-breathed  air  of  the  place  into 
evil-tasting  fog. 

Three  men  put  their  faces  close  to  Ephraim's  and  pro- 
ceeded to  enlighten  him  as  to  what  had  passed.  He 
seemed  to  be  recognized  as  some  sort  of  chieftain,  and 
carried  himself  with  a  commanding  air,  but  so  many  men 
talked  at  once,  and  all  in  Armenian,  that  we  could  not 
pick  out  more  than  a  word  or  two  here  and  there.  Even 
Fred,  with  his  gift  of  tongues,  could  hardly  make  head 
or  tail  of  it. 

We  three  pressed  through  the  swarm  and  took  our 
stand  beside  Gloria,  not  hesitating  to  thrust  the  other 
women  aside.  They  dragged  at  their  men-folk  to  call 
attention  to  us,  but  the  argument  was  too  hot  to  be 
missed,  and  the  women  clawed  and  screamed  in  vain. 

"I  believe  we  could  get  out !"  I  shouted  in  Will's  ear. 
But  he  shook  his  head.  At  least  six  men  were  standing 
•n  the  trap,  and  we  could  not  have  driven  them  ofif  it 
because  there  was  no  other  space  on  the  floor  that  they 
could  occupy.    So  I  turned  to  Fred, 

"Couldn't  we  shake  those  ruffians  off  the  ladder,  and 
climb  up  it  and  escape?"  I  shouted.  But  Fred  shook  his 
head,  and  went  on  listening,  trying  to  follow  the  course 
of  the  dispute. 

At  last  somebody  with  louder  lungs  than  any  other  man 
made  Ephraim  understand  that  it  was  I  who  sent  the 
messenger  to  Zeitoon.  Instantly  that  solved  the  prob- 
lem to  his  mind.    I  should  be  hanged,  and  that  would  be 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  173 

all  about  it.  He  gesticulated.  The  men  swarmed  down 
off  the  ladder  to  the  already  overcrowded  floor,  and  mis- 
taking Will  for  me  several  men  started  to  thrust  him  for- 
ward. A  face  appeared  through  the  hole  in  the  roof  and 
its  owner  was  sent  running  for  a  rope.  I  had  not  recov- 
ered my  pistol,  and  my  rifle  was  slung  at  my  back  where 
I  could  not  possibly  get  at  it  for  the  crowd.  But  Fred 
had  a  Colt  repeater  handy  in  his  hip-pocket  and  he 
promptly  screwed  the  muzzle  of  it  into  Ephraim's  ear. 
What  he  said  to  him  I  don't  know,  but  Ephraim's  con- 
victions underwent  a  change  of  base  and  he  began  to 
yell  for  silence.  The  men  who  had  seized  Will  let  go  of 
him  just  as  the  rope  with  a  disgusting  noose  in  the  end 
was  lowered  through  the  roof.  And  then  Ossa  was  im- 
posed on  Pelion. 

A  new  face  appeared  at  the  hole.  Not  that  we  could 
see  the  face.  We  could  only  see  the  form  of  a  man  who 
shook  the  bloody  stump  of  a  forearm  at  us,  and  shrieked 
unintelligible  things.  After  thirty  seconds  even  the  men 
in  the  far  corner  were  aware  of  him,  and  then  there  was 
stony  silence  while  he  had  his  say.  He  repeated  his  mes- 
sage a  dozen  times,  as  if  he  had  it  by  heart  exactly,  spit- 
ting foam  out  of  his  mouth  and  never  ceasing  to  shake 
the  butchered  stump  of  an  arm.  At  about  the  dozenth 
time  he  fainted  and  fell  headlong  down  the  ladder  bring- 
ing up  on  the  shoulders  of  the  men  below. 

"What  does  he  say?"  I  bellowed  in  Fred's  ear.  But 
Fred  was  forcing  his  wa}'  closer  to  Gloria,  to  tell  her. 

"He  says  the  Kurds  are  coming!  He  says  two  regi- 
ments of  Kurdish  cavalry  have  been  turned  loose  by  the 
Turks  with  orders  to  'rescue'  Armenians.  They  are 
on  their  way,  riding  b}'  night  for  a  wontler.  They  cut 
both  his  hands  off,  but  he  got  away  by  shamming  dead. 


174  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

He  says  they  are  cutting  off  the  feet  of  people  and  bidding 
them  walk  to  Tarsus.  They  are  taking  the  women  and 
girls  for  sale.  Old  women  and  very  little  children  they 
are  making  what  they  call  sport  with.  Have  you  heard 
of  Kurds?  Their  ideas  of  sport  are  worse  than  the  Red- 
man's ever  wxre." 

Every  tongue  in  the  room  broke  loose.  In  another  sec- 
ond every  man  was  still.  They  looked  toward  Ephraim. 
He  who  could  order  a  hanging  so  glibly  should  shoulder 
the  new  responsibility. 

But  Ephraim  was  not  ready  with  a  plan,  and  could 
not  speak  English,  Wild-eyed,  he  seized  the  lapel  of  my 
coat  in  trembling  fingers,  and  with  a  throat  grown  sud- 
denly parched,  crackled  a  question  at  me  in  Armenian. 
I  could  have  understood  Volopuk  easier. 

"What  does  he  say,  Fred?" 

"He  wants  to  know  how  soon  Kagig  can  be  here." 

"Kagig!"  Ephraim  echoed,  clutching  at  my  collar. 
**Yes,  yes,  yes !    Kagig !  Come — how  soon  ?" 

"We  shall  be  all  right,"  said  another  man  in  English 
over  on  the  far  side  of  the  room.  His  hoarse  voice 
sounded  like  a  bellow  in  the  silence.  "Kagig  will  come 
presently.  Kagig  will  butcher  the  Kurds.  Kagig  will 
certainly  save  us." 

"Kagig!"  Ephraim  insisted.     "Come — how  soon?" 

But  I  knew  Kagig  would  not  come,  that  night  or  at  any 
time,  and  Ephraim  shook  me  in  frenzied  impatience  for 
an  answer. 


ti' 


•MALE  AND  FE:\IALE  CREATED  HE  THEM'' 

The  ancient  orders  pass.    The  fetters  fall. 
All-potent  inspiration  stirs  dead  peoples 

to  nezv  birth. 
And  over  bloodied  fields  a  nezv,  clear  call 
Rings  kindlier  on  deadened  ears  of  earth. 
Man — male — usurping — unzvise  overlord, 
Indoctri)uited,  flattered,  by  himself  betrayed 
And  all-betraying  since  zvith  idiot  zvord 
He  bade  his  zvoman  bear  and  be  afraid, 
Azcakcs  to  see  delusion  of  the  past 
Unnwurncd  along  zvith  all  injustice  die. 
Himself  by  woman  ziisdom  blessed  at  last 
And  her  unchallenged  right  the  reason  zvhy. 


CHAPTER  ELEVEN 
'  "That  man's  dose  is  death,  and  he  dies  tinshriven!" 

NOW  for  a  moment  I  became  the  unwilling  vortex 
of  that  mob  of  anxious  men  and  women — I  who  by; 
my  own  confession  knew  Kagig,  I  who  had  sent  Kagig  a; 
message,  I  who  five  minutes  ago  was  on  the  verge  of 
being  hanged  in  the  greasy  noose  that  still  swung  above 
the  ladder  through  the  hole  in  the  roof — I  who  therefore 
ought  to  be  thoroughly  plastic-minded  and  obedient  to  de- 
mands. 

The  place  had  become  as  evil  smelling  as  the  Black 
Hole  of  Calcutta.  Everybody  was  sweating,  and  they 
shoved  and  milled  murderously  in  the  effort  to  get  near 
me  and  learn,  each  with  his  own  ears  from  my  lips,  just 
when  Kagig  might  be  expected.  Ephraim,  their  presump- 
tive leader,  got  shuffled  to  the  outside  of  the  pack — the 
only  silent  man  between  the  four  walls,  watchful  for  new 
opportunity. 

With  my  clothing  nearly  torn  off  and  ears  in  agony 
from  bellowed  questions,  the  only  remedy  I  could  think 
of  was  to  yell  to  Fred  to  start  up  a  tune  on  his  concer- 
tina; I  had  seen  him  change  a  crowd's  temper  many  a 
time  in  just  that  way.  But  even  supposing  my  advice 
had  been  good,  he  could  not  get  his  arms  free,  and  it  was 
Gloria  Vanderman  who  saved  that  day. 

Whoever  has  tried  to  write  down  the  quality  that  makes 
the  college  girl.  United  States  or  English,  what  she  is  has 
failed,  just  as  whoever  has  tried  to  muzzle  or  discredit 
her  has  failed.    She  is  something  new  that  has  happened 

176 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  177^ 

to  the  world,  not  because  of  men  and  women  and  the 
priests  and  pundits,  but  in  spite  of  them.  Part  of  the 
reason  can  be  given  by  him  who  knows  history  enough, 
and  commands  almost  unlimited  leisure  and  page;  but 
that  would  only  be  the  uninteresting  part  that  we  could 
easily  dispense  Avith.  The  college  girl  has  happened  to 
the  world,  as  light  did  in  Genesis  1 :3. 

Gloria  Vanderman,  with  her  back  against  the  wall, 
struggled  and  contrived  to  get  her  foot  on  Will's  bent 
knee.  Another  struggle  sent  her  breast-high  above  the 
sea  of  sweating  faces.  There  was  fitful  light  enough  to 
see  her  by,  because  the  man  v.-ho  held  a  pine  torch  was 
privileged.  If  there  had  not  been  hot  sparks  scattering 
from  the  thing  doubtless  they  would  have  closed  in  on 
him  and  crushed  it  down,  and  out,  but  he  had  elbow- 
room,  and  accordingly  Gloria's  face  glowed  golden  in  its 
frame  of  disordered  chestnut  hair.  One  heard  her  voice 
because  it  was  clear,  and  sweet  with  reasonableness,  so 
that  it  vibrated  in  an  unobstructed  orbit. 

"Surely  you  are  not  cowards?"  she  began,  and  they 
grew  silent,  because  that  idea  called  for  consideration. 

"Kagig  is  a  patriot.  Kagig  is  fighting  for  all  Armenia. 
Surely  you  arc  not  the  men  to  let  brave  Kagig  be  tempted 
away  from  his  post  of  danger  at  Zcitoon  ?  If  I  know  you 
men  and  women  you  will  hasten  to  meet  Kagig,  taking 
your  food,  and  weapons,  and  children  with  you.  You  will 
hurry — hurry — hurry  to  meet  him — to  meet  him  as  near 
Zcitoon  as  possible,  so  as  to  turn  him  back  to  his  post  of 
duty!" 

Then  Ephraim  saw  his  chance.  Some  whisperer  trans- 
lated to  him  and  he  owned  a  voice  that  was  worth  gold 
for  political  purposes. 

He  took  up  the  talc  in  Armenian,  working  himself  up 


178  ■  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

into  a  splendid  fervor,  and  so  amplifying  the  argument 
that  he  could  almost  fairly  claim  it  as  his  own  before  he 
was  half-done.  She  had  introduced  the  light,  but  he 
exploited  it,  and  he  knew  his  nation — knew  the  tricks  of 
speech  most  likely  to  spur  them  into  action. 

Within  five  minutes  they  were  shoving  the  stones  off 
the  trap  at  imminent  risk  of  anybody's  legs,  and  the  lad- 
der bent  groaning  under  the  weight  of  twice  as  many  as 
it  ought  to  bear,  as  half  of  them  essayed  the  short  cut  over 
the  roof.  A  blast  of  sweet  air  through  the  opened  trap 
ejected  most  of  the  smoky  ten-times-breathed  stuff  out 
with  the  climbers ;  and  as  the  room  emptied  and  we  wiped 
the  grimy  sweat  from  our  faces  I  heard  Will  talking  to 
Gloria  Vanderman  in  a  new  tongue — new,  that  is  to  say, 
to  the  old  world. 

"Good  goods !  Stampeded  'em !  They'll  vote  for  you 
for  any  office — your  pick!  If  that  guy  Ephraim  plans 
buttering  the  slide  we'll  set  him  on  it — watch !" 

"You  bet,"  she  answered  sentimentally.  "I  wasn't 
cheer  leader  for  nothing.  Besides,  I  delivered  the  vale- 
dictory— say,  what  are  we  waiting  here  for?" 

"Come  on,  then !"  I  urged  her.  "We'll  leave  our  mule- 
load  behind  in  case  they've  eaten  your  horse.  Come  with 
us  to  the  stables  and — " 

But  she  interrupted  me. 

"You  men  go  down  and  get  the  horses.  Do  what  you 
can  with  the  crowd.  I'll  get  the  women  into  something 
like  order  if  that's  possible,  and  we'll  all  meet  wherever 
there's  open  ground  and  moonlight  at  the  foot  of  the 
hill." 

"I'll  come  with  you,"  Will  proposed.    "You'll  need—" 

"No  you  won't !  The  women  are  easy.  They've  been 
taught  to  obey  orders !     It'll  take  all  the  wit  you  three 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  179 

men  own  between  you  to  get  the  men  in  line !  Let's  get 
busy !" 

The  men  had  treated  the  hanging  blankets  with  the 
respect  the  ancient  Jews  accorded  to  the  veil  of  the  Holy 
of  Holies.  (We  learned  afterward  that  there  was  an 
Armenian  man  of  the  party  who  had  followed  a  circus 
one  summer  all  across  the  States,  and  had  brought  that 
sensible  precaution  home  with  him  as  rule  number  one 
for  successful  management  of  mixed  assemblies.)  Gloria 
Vanderman  made  a  run  for  the  curtain  and  dived  behind 
it.    We  heard  the  women  welcome  her. 

"Let's  go!"  said  Will. 

Will  had  ever  been  our  ladies'  man  in  all  our  wander- 
ings, because  women  could  never  resist  his  unaffected 
comradeship.  Even  among  Americans  he  was  rare  in  his 
gift  of  according  to  women  equality  not  only  of  liberty, 
but  of  understanding  and  good  sense,  and  it  went  like 
wine  to  the  heads  of  some  we  had  met,  so  that  Will  was 
scMom  without  a  sex-problem  on  his  hands  and  ours. 
But  Will  was  too  good  a  comrade  to  be  surrendered  to 
any  woman  lightly. 

"Damn  that  chicken  !"  murmured  Fred  by  way  of  pray- 
ing fervently,  pausing  in  the  breach  in  the  wall  to  rub 
his  shin.  "Feel  that  bruise,  will  you !  No  young  woman 
ever  brought  me  luck  yet!" 

"What  are  you  waiting  for?"  complained  a  voice  from 
outer  darkness.    "Come  on,  you  rummies!" 

Fred  sat  down  on  the  protruding  stone  that  had  in- 
jured his  shin,  and  detained  me  with  his  arm  across  the 
opening. 

"Mark  my  words!  In  order  that  that  young  woman 
may  be  educated  to  coTisider  Will  Ycrkes  a  paragon  of 
unimaginable  virtues,  we — you  and  I — arc  going  to  have 


180  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

to  do  what  he  calls  'hustle/  We're  going  to  see  speed, 
and  we're  going  to  sweat,  trying  to  catch  up.  There 
isn't  a  scatterbrained  adventure  conceivable  that  we're 
not  going  to  be  forced  into,  nor  an  imaginable  peril  that 
we're  not  going  to  have  to  pull  him  out  of.  We're  go- 
ing to  be  cursed  for  our  trouble,  and  ridiculed  to  make 
amusement  for  her  majesty.  And  at  the  end  of  it  all 
we're  going  to  be  patronized  for  a  couple  of  ignorant 
damned  fools  who  don't  know  better  than  be  bachelors. 
What's  worse,  we're  going  to  submit  tamely.  What  is 
infinitely  worse,  we're  going  to  like  it !  There  are  times 
when  I  doubt  the  sanity  of  my  whole  sex !" 

"Have  you  guys  taken  root?"  demanded  the  familiar 
voice  and  we  heard  Will's  returning  footsteps. 

"No,  America.  But  I  have  to  sit  down  when  my  shin 
hurts  and  I'm  seized  with  the  gift  of  prophecy." 

"Huh!  We'll  find  Miss  Vanderman  tired  of  waiting 
for  us  with  the  women.  Since  when  has  a  crack  on  the 
shin  made  a  baby  of  you  ?    You  used  to  be  tough  enough !" 

"D'you  get  the  idea  ?"  chuckled  Fred.  "We're  coming, 
Will,  we're  coming." 

Perfectly  unconsciously  Will  took  the  lead,  and  most 
outrageously  he  drove  us.  Not  that  his  driving  was  not 
shrewd,  for  his  usually  practical  and  quick  mind  seemed 
to  take  on  added  brilliancy.  And  since  we  first  joined 
partnership — he  and  IMonty  and  Fred  and  I — we  had  al- 
ways been  contented  to  follow  the  lead  of  whichever  held 
it  at  the  moment.  But  there  was  new  efficiency,  and  im- 
patience of  a  brand-new  kind  that  would  not  rest  until 
every  man  and  animal  had  been  rummaged  in  darkness 
out  of  that  old  ruin,  and  men,  horses,  cows,  goats,  bags 
of  grain,  and  fifty  cases  of  cartridges  were  driven  down 


JHE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  '        181 

through  the  forest  like  water  forced  through  a  sieve,  and 
jvere  gathered  in  the  only  open  space  discoverable. 

There  we  cooled  our  heels,  fearful  and  full  of  vague 
imaginings  until  ]\Iiss  Vanderman  should  bring  the 
women,  not  at  all  encouraged  by  shouts  in  the  distance 
that  well  might  be  the  exulting  of  plundering  Kurds,  nor 
by  occasional  rifle-shots  that  sounded  continually  nearer, 
nor  by  the  angry  crimson  glow  of  burning  roofs  that 
lighted  half  the  horizon. 

We  waited  an  hour.  Will  objecting  whenever  either  of 
us  proposed  to  return  and  speed  Miss  Vanderman. 

"Aw,  what's  the  use?  D'you  suppose  she  doesn't 
know  we're  waiting?" 

At  last  Fred  proposed  that  Will  himself  go  and  in- 
vestigate. He  went  through  the  form  of  demurring,  but 
yielded  gracefully. 

"The  spirit,"  Fred  chuckled,  "is  weak,  and  the  flesh 
is  willing!" 

Will  handed  his  mule's  reins  to  an  Armenian  and 
started  alone  up-hill  through  the  pitch-dark  forest;  and 
because  the  world  is  mixed  of  unexpectedness  and  grim 
jest  in  fairly  equal  proportions,  five  minutes  after  he  left 
us  Gloria  Vanderman  came  leading  the  women  by  another 
path. 

To  avoid  confusion  with  our  party,  and  for  sake  of  si- 
lence, she  had  led  them  a  circuit,  and  except  for  the  oc- 
casional wail  of  a  child  and  a  little  low  talking  that 
blended  like  the  hum  of  insects  with  the  night,  they  made 
very  little  noise.  The  rear  was  brought  up  by  the  strong- 
est women  carrj'ing  the  sick  and  wounded  on  litters  that 
had  been  improviscfl  in  a  hurry,  and  like  most  things  of 
the  sort  were  much  too  heavy. 


182  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

"Your  mule  is  ready,"  said  I,    But  she  shook  her  head. 

"You  gentlemen  must  give  your  mules  up  to  the  sick 
and  wounded.    We  well  ones  can  walk." 

I  did  not  know  how  to  answer  her,  although  I  knew 
she  was  wrong.  The  way  to  organize  a  marching  column 
is  not  to  level  down  to  the  ability  of  the  weakest,  al- 
though the  pace  of  the  weakest  may  have  to  be  the  meas- 
ure of  speed.  We,  who  had  to  protect  the  column  and 
shepherd  it,  would  need  our  mounts;  without  them  we 
should  all  be  at  the  mercy  of  any  enemy,  with  no  corre- 
sponding gain  to  any  one  except  the  litter-bearers.  All 
the  same,  I  did  not  care  to  take  issue  with  that  capable 
young  woman  then  and  there.  She  would  have  put  me 
in  the  wrong  and  left  me  speechless  and  indignant,  after 
the  fashion  that  is  older  than  poor  Shylock's  tale. 

But  Fred  is  made  of  sterner  stuff  than  I,  and  was  never 
above  amusing  himself  at  the  expense  of  anybody's  dig- 
nity. 

"Will  is  the  youngest,"  he  answered.  "Besides,  he's 
keeping  us  all  waiting  with  his  love-affairs !  He  ought 
to  be  made  to  walk !" 

"His  love-affairs?" 

"He  went  into  the  woods  to  see  a  woman,"  Fred  an- 
swered imperturbably.  "Let  him  forfeit  his  mule.  Here 
he  comes.    Did  you  find  her,  America?" 

Will  emerged  out  of  gloom  v^ith  a  grin  on  his  face. 

"Just  my  luck !"  he  said  simply.  "What  are  we  wait- 
ing for  ?    I  can  hear  the  Kurds.    Let's  start." 

At  that  Gloria  got  excited. 

"D'you  mean  you're  willing  to  leave  a  woman  behind 
alone  in  that  forest?"  she  demanded,  and  Will's  jaw 
dropped. 

Fred  nudged  my  ribs. 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  183 

"Come  on !  We've  given  'em  a  ground  for  their  first 
quarrel.  They'll  never  thank  us  if  Ave  wait  a  week. 
Mount !     Walk— ride !" 

We  sent  our  two  Zeitoonli  in  advance  to  show  the  way. 
True  to  his  word,  Arabaiji  had  left  us,  mule  and  all,  and 
we  missed  him  as  we  strove  to  get  the  unwieldy  column 
marshaled  and  moving  in  line.  We  did  not  see  Will  and 
Gloria  again  that  night,  except  when  they  passed  between 
us,  walking,  arguing — W\\\  explaining — we  sitting  on  our 
mules  on  either  side  of  the  track  until  the  last  of  the 
swarm  tailed  by.  Then  we  brought  up  the  rear  together, 
to  drive  the  stragglers  and  look  out  for  pursuit. 

"Not  that  I  know  what  the  devil  we'll  do  if  the  Kurds 
get  after  us!"  said  Fred. 

"Let's  hope  they  make  for  the  castle  to-night,  and  waste 
time  plundering  that." 

"PifRe !"  he  answered. 

"Why?" 

"Because,  you  ass,  if  they  get  to  the  place  and  find  it 
empty  they'll  deduce,  being  less  than  idiots,  that  we're 
not  far  off  and  that  we're  at  their  mercy  in  the  open ! 
Let's  hope  to  God  they  funk  attacking  in  the  dark,  and 
wait  out  of  range  of  the  walls  until  daylight.  In  that  case 
we've  a  chance.  Otherwise — I've  still  got  six  rifle  car- 
tridges, and  four  for  my  pistol.    How  many  have  you?" 

"Six  of  each." 

"Then  you  owe  me  one  for  my  jMstol." 

I  passed  it  to  him. 

"So.  Now  we're  good  for  exactly  twenty-two  Kurds 
between  us.  If  we're  pursued  I  propose  to  give  those 
two  young  lovers  a  chance  by  making  every  cartridge 
count  from  behind  cover." 

"They'd  hear  the  shooting  and — " 


184  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

"Not  if  we  drop  far  enough  behind." 

"They'd  hear  shooting  and  Will,  at  any  rate,  would  ride 
back." 

"He  couldn't !  He'd  have  to  look  after  the  girl  and  the 
column." 

"All  the  same— Will's— " 

"I  know  he  is.  Very  well.  I'll  arrange  it  another  way. 
You  wait  behind  here." 

So  I  rode  along  slowly,  and  he  spurred  his  horse  to  a 
trot.  But  he  did  not  hold  the  trot  long.  I  could  hear  him 
objurgating,  coaxing,  encouraging,  explaining,  and  the 
shrill  voices  of  women  answering,  as  he  tried  at  one  and 
the  same  time  to  pass  the  unfortunates  in  the  dark  and  to 
make  them  see  the  grim  necessity  for  speed.  Soon  I 
grew  as  busy  as  he,  bullying  litter-bearers  and  mothers 
burdened  with  crying  babies.  In  times  of  massacre  and 
war,  survivors  are  not  necessarily  those  who  enjoyed  the 
best  of  it.  Nearly-drowned  men  brought  to  life  again 
would  forego  the  process  if  the  choice  were  theirs,  and 
there  were  nearly  twenty  women  who  would  have  pre- 
ferred death  to  that  night's  march.  But  I  did  not  dare 
load  my  horse  with  babies,  since  it  would  likely  be  needed 
before  dawn  for  sterner  work. 

It  was  more  than  an  hour  before  Fred  loomed  in  sight 
again,  standing  beside  his  horse  in  wait  for  me.  He,  too, 
had  resisted  the  temptation  to  relieve  mothers  of  their 
living  loads  (not  that  they  ever  expected  it). 

"How  did  you  manage?"  I  asked,  for  I  could  tell  by 
his  air  that  the  errand  had  been  successful. 

"I  lied  to  him." 

"Of  course.    What  did  you  say?" 

"Said  if  the  straggling  got  bad  you  and  I  might  fall  a 
long  way  behind  and  fire  our  pistols,  so  as  to  give  the 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  185 

impression  Kurds  are  in  pursuit.  That  would  tickle  up 
the  rear-end  to  a  run !" 

"And  he  believed  that  ?"  Will  knew  as  well  as  I  Fred's 
not  exactly  subtle  way  of  maneuvering  to  get  the  post  of 
greatest  danger  for  himself. 

"He'd  have  believed  anything!  He*s  head-,  heart-  and 
heels-over-end  in  love  with  the  girl,  and  she's  as  bad  as 
he  is.  They're  talking  political  economy  and  international 
jurisprudence.  When  I  reached  'em  they'd  just  arrived 
at  the  conclusion  that  the  United  States  can  save  the 
world,  maybe — maybe  not,  but  nothing  else  can.  I  was 
decidedly  de  trop.  They're  pretty  to  watch.  No,  he 
hasn't  kissed  her  yet — ^}'0U  could  tell  that  even  in  the  dark. 
It's  my  belief  he  won't  for  a  long  time;  America's  way 
with  women  is  beyond  belief.  They're  telling  each  other 
all  they  know,  and  like,  and  dislike,  and  believe,  and  hope. 
It  'ud  take  a  bullet  to  divide  their  destinies.  I  delivered 
my  message,  and  they  were  so  devilish  polite  you'd  think 
I  was  the  parson  come  to  marry  'em.  They'd  forgotten 
my  very  existence.  \\'hen  it  dawned  on  'em  who  I  was 
they  were  so  keen  to  be  rid  of  me  they'd  have  agreed  to 
anything  at  all.    So  it  was  easy." 

"Good." 

"No,  it's  bad.  Will's  a  friend  of  mine.  I  hate  to  see 
him  squandered  on  a  woman.  However,  I  did  better 
than  that." 

"How  so?" 

As  I  spoke  there  loomed  out  of  the  darkness  just  ahead 
of  us  eight  men  surrounding  something  on  the  track,  their 
rifles  sticking  up  above  their  shoulders. 

"I've  found  eight  men  with  rifles  all  alike  that  fit  the 
ammunition  in  the  boxes.  It's  stolen  Turkish  government 
ammunition,  by  the  way.    The  rifles  come  from  the  same 


186  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

source.  The  point  is  that  a  man  caught  with  a  stolen  gov- 
ernment rifle  and  ammunition  in  his  possession  would  be 
tortured.  Incidentally  the  men  seem  game.  Therefore, 
if  we  have  to  fight  a  rear-guard  action  we  can  reasonably 
count  on  them,  Haide!"  he  called  to  the  eight  men,  and 
they  picked  up  the  case  of  cartridges,  and  resumed  the 
march  just  ahead  of  us. 

Fred  lit  his  pipe  contentedly,  as  he  always  is  contented 
when  he  can  make  satisfactory  arrangements  to  sacrifice 
himself  unselfishly  and  pretend  to  himself  he  is  a  cynic. 
AVhether  because  the  armed  guard  of  their  own  people 
put  new  courage  in  them,  or  because  rifles  at  their  rear 
made  them  more  afraid,  the  stragglers  gave  less  trouble 
for  the  next  few  hours.  Perhaps  they  were  growing 
more  used  to  the  march,  and  some  of  them  were  numb 
with  anxiety,  while  not  so  weary  yet  that  feet  would  not 
carry  them  forward. 

Somewhere  in  advance  a  man  with  a  high  tenor  voice 
began  to  sing  a  wild  folk-song,  of  the  sort  that  is  com- 
mon to  all  countries  whose  heritage  is  hope  unstrangled. 
He  and  others  like  him  with  love  and  music  in  their  brave 
hearts  sang  the  tortured  column  through  its  night  of 
agony,  keeping  alive  faint  hope  that  hell  must  have  an 
end.  Dawn  broke  sweet  and  calm.  For  it  makes  no  mat- 
ter if  a  nation  writhes  in  agony,  or  man  wreaks  hate  on 
man,  the  wind  and  the  sky  still  whisper  and  smile ;  and 
the  scent  of  wild  flowers  is  not  canceled  by  the  stench  of 
tired  humanity. 

Fred  knocked  his  pipe  out  and  rode  to  the  top  of  a 
shoulder  of  rock  beside  the  track,  beckoning  to  me  to 
follow.  We  could  see  our  column,  astonishingly  long 
drawn,  winding  like  a  line  of  ants  in  and  out  and  over, 
following  the  leaders  in  a  dream  because  there  seemed 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  18;^ 

nothing  else  to  do  or  dream  about.  Once  I  thought  I 
caught  sight  of  Will  on  his  horse,  passing  between  trees, 
but  I  was  not  sure.  Fred  turned  his  horse  about  and 
looked  in  the  direction  we  had  come  from.  Presently 
he  nudged  me. 

"That  smoke  might  be  the  castle  we  were  in  last  night. 
See — it's  red  underneath.  What'll  you  bet  me  Kurds 
don't  show  up  in  pursuit  before  the  day's  an  hour  old  ?" 

That  was  nothing  to  bet  about,  and  that  kind  of  dawn 
is  not  the  hour  for  roseate  optimism. 

"If  they  come,"  said  I,  "I  hope  I  don't  live  to  see  what 
they'll  do  to  the  women.'* 

Fred  met  my  eyes  and  laughed. 

"That's  all  right,"  he  said.  "You  ride  on.  This  rock 
commands  the  track.  I'll  follow  later  when  pursuit's 
called  off." 

"Ride  on  yourself!"  I  answered,  and  he  chuckled  as 
he  lighted  his  pipe  again. 

One  of  the  men  had  a  kerosene  can  filled  with  odds 
and  ends  of  personal  belongings.  I  turned  them  out  in 
a  hollow  of  the  rock,  and  sent  him  to  fill  the  can  with 
drinking  water  at  a  spring.  Then  Fred  and  I  chose  sta- 
tions, and  Fred  went  to  vast  pains  lecturing  every  one  of 
us  on  how  to  keep  cover.  We  had  nothing  to  eat,  and 
therefore  no  notion  of  putting  up  anything  but  a  short 
fight.  Our  best  point  was  the  surprise  that  unexpected, 
organized  resistance  would  be  likely  to  produce  on  plun- 
dering Kurds. 

It  was  pleasant  enough  where  wc  lay,  and  reminded 
both  of  us  of  far  less  strenuous  days.  The  little  animals 
that  are  always  curious  to  the  point  of  their  undoing  came 
out  and  investigated  our  tracks  as  soon  as  the  noise  of 
the  stragglers  had  ceased.    The  Armenians  took  no  notice 


188  THE  EYE  OF  ZETTOON 

of  the  wild  life;  persecuted  people  seldom  do,  having 
their  own  hard  case  too  much  in  mind  ;  but  Fred  knew  the 
name  of  nearly  every  bird  and  animal  that  showed  itself, 
and  even  ceased  smoking  as  his  interest  increased. 

"Ever  go  fishing  as  a  boy?"  he  asked. 

"Didn't  ir 

"Get  up  before  daylight  and  escape  from  the  house  by 
the  back  way — " 

"Stealing  bread  and  cheese  from  the  pantry  on  the 
way  out — " 

"And  stopping  where  the  grass  was  long  near  the 
watering  place  to  dig  worms — " 

"And  unchain  the  dog  with  frantic  efforts  to  keep  him 
from  barking — " 

"Yes,  but  the  rascal  always  would  do  it — bark  and 
wake  ever\'body!  Lucky  if  nobody  saw  you  as  you 
slipped  through  the  gate  into  the  fields !" 

"Ah!  But  then  what  a  time  the  dog  had — it  was  al- 
most as  good  fun  as  the  fishing  to  watch  him  scamper. 
And  how  hungry  he  got — and  he  ate  more  than  his  share 
of  the  bread  and  cheese,  so  that  you'd  have  had  to  go 
home  early  because  of  the  aching  void  if  it  hadn't  been 
for  the  cottage  where  they  gave  a  fellow  milk  out  of  a 
brown  dish." 

"Yumm !  Didn't  that  country  milk  taste  good !  Snff- 
snff — they  were  mornings  just  like  this  at  home  when  I 
went  fishing.  Cool  and  sweet  and  full  of  scent.  Snff- 
snff!" 

We  sat  still  behind  the  ledge  and  let  the  air  and 
scenery  revive  kind  memories.  The  only  noise  was  what 
our  horses  made  cropping  the  grass  in  a  hollow  behind 
us.  for  the  Armenians  were  well  content  to  ruminate. 
Most  likely  they  would  have  fallen  asleep  if  we  had  not 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  189 

been  there  to  keep  an  eye  on  them,  for  prolonged  sub- 
jection to  too  much  fear  is  soporific,  so  that  tortured  poor 
wretches  sleep  on  the  tightened  rack. 

I  was  very  nearly  asleep  myself,  having  had  practically 
none  of  it  for  two  nights  in  succession,  and  had  taken  to 
watching  the  horses  to  keep  my  mind  busy,  when  the 
movement  of  my  horse's  ears  struck  me  as  peculiar. 
Presently  he  ceased  grazing  and  raised  his  head.  I 
thought  he  was  going  to  whinny,  and  turned  to  see  Fred 
squinting  down  his  rifle  at  something  that  was  not  in  the 
range  of  my  vision. 

**Here  they  come  !"  he  whispered. 

As  he  spoke  a  Kurd  stepped  out  from  between  the 
trees,  and  we  could  see  that  he  had  tied  his  horse  to  a 
branch  in  the  gloom  behind  him.  He  had  the  long 
sleeves  reaching  nearly  to  the  ground  peculiar  to  his  race, 
and  the  unmistakable  sheeny  nose  and  cruel  lips.  From 
the  rifle  that  he  carried  cavalierly  over  his  shoulder  hung 
a  woman's  undergarment,  with  a  dark  stain  on  it  that 
looked  suspiciously  like  blood,  ]\fy  horse  whinnied  then, 
and  his  beast  answered.  At  that  he  brought  his  rifle  to 
the  "ready"  and  nearly  jumped  out  of  his  skin. 

"I'm  judge,  jury,  witness,  prosecutor  and  executioner!" 
Fred  whispered.  "That  man's  dose  is  death,  and  he  dies 
un shriven  !" 

Then  he  fired,  and  Fred  could  not  miss  at  that  range 
if  he  tried.  The  Kurd  clapped  a  hand  to  his  throat  and 
fell  backward,  and  one  of  our  Armenians  ran  before  we 
could  stop  him  to  seize  the  tied  horse,  and  any  other 
plunder.  One  of  the  things  he  brought  back  with  him, 
besides  the  horse  and  rifle  and  ammunition  belt,  was  a 
woman's  finger  with  the  ring  not  yet  removed.  He  said 
he  found  it  in  the  cartridge  pouch. 


190  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

In  proof  that  organized  defense  was  the  last  thing  they 
reckoned  on,  nine  more  Kurds  came  galloping  down  the 
track  pell-mell  toward  the  place  where  they  had  heard 
the  solitary  rifle-shot,  doubtless  suj^posing  their  own  man 
had  come  upon  the  quarry.  We  fired  too  fast,  for  the 
Armenians  were  not  drilled  men,  but  we  dropped  two 
horses  and  five  Kurds,  and  the  remaining  four  fled,  with 
the  riderless  animals  stampeding  in  their  wake. 

"What  next?"  said  I,  as  Fred  wiped  out  his  rifle-bar- 
rel. 

"They'll  return  in  greater  force.  We'd  better  change 
ground.  D'you  notice  how  this  rock  is  covered  by  that 
other  one  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  the  right?  Higher 
ground,  too,  and  the  last  place  they'll  look — come  on !" 

The  man  with  the  water-can  spilled  it  all,  for  the  sake 
of  his  medley  of  possessions,  and  I  had  to  send  him  all 
the  way  back  for  more.  But  we  took  up  our  new  stand 
at  last  with  the  horses  well  hidden  and  enough  to  drink 
to  last  the  day  out,  and  then  had  to  wait  half  an  hour  be- 
fore any  Kurds  came  back  to  the  attack. 

They  came  on  the  second  time  with  infinite  precaution, 
lurking  among  the  trees  on  the  outskirts  of  the  clearing 
and  firing  several  random  shots  at  our  old  position  in 
the  ho])e  of  drawing  our  fire.  Finally,  they  emerged  from 
the  forest  thirty  strong  and  rushed  our  supposed  hiding- 
place  at  full  gallop. 

They  were  not  even  out  of  pistol  range.  Fred  used 
the  Mauser  rifle  taken  from  the  dead  Kurd,  and  then  we 
both  emptied  our  pistols  at  the  fools,  the  Armenians 
meanwhile  keeping  up  a  savage  independent  fire  so  ragged 
and  rapid  that  it  might  have  been  the  battle  of  Waterloo. 

The  Kurds  never  knew  whether  or  not  we  were  another 


-  y 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  191 

party  or  the  first  one.  They  never  discovered  whether 
our  former  post  was  deserted  or  not.  We  never  knew 
how  many  of  them  we  hit,  for  after  about  a  dozen  had 
tumbled  out  of  the  saddle  the  remainder  galloped  for 
their  lives.  For  minutes  afterward  we  heard  them  crash- 
ing and  pounding  away  in  the  distance  to  find  their 
friends. 

Our  loot  consisted  of  two  wounded  prisoners  and  four 
good  horses,  in  addition  to  rifles  and  cartridges.  We 
let  the  dead  lie  where  they  were  for  a  warning  to  other 
scoundrels,  and  we  looked  on  while  our  Armenians 
searched  the  bodies  for  anything  likely  to  be  of  slightest 
use.  They  found  almost  nothing  originally  Kurdish,  but 
more  Armenian  trinkets  than  would  have  stocked  a  trav- 
eling merchant's  show-case,  including  necklaces  and  ear- 
rings. 

Fred  took  the  two  prisoners  aside  and  in  Persian, 
which  every  Kurd  can  understand  and  speak  after  a  fash- 
ion, offered  them  their  choice  between  telling  the  whole 
truth  or  being  handed  over  to  Armenians.  And  as  there 
isn't  a  bloody  rascal  in  the  world  but  suspects  his  intended 
victims  of  worse  hankerings  than  his  own,  they  loosed 
their  tongues  and  told  more  than  the  truth,  adding  what- 
ever they  thought  likely  to  please  Fred. 

"They  say  there  were  only  about  fifty  of  them  in  this 
raiding  party  to  begin  with,  and  several  came  to  trouble 
before  they  met  us.  Seems  there  are  Armenians  hidden 
here  and  there  who  are  able  to  give  an  account  of  them- 
selves. Ten  or  twelve  elected  to  stay  near  the  castle  we 
were  in  last  night.  They've  burned  it,  but  they  have  some 
captured  women  and  propose  to  enjoy  themselves.  Shall 
we  ride  back  and  break  in  on  the  party?" 


192  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

He  meant  what  he  said,  but  it  was  out  of  the  question. 

"The  party  we've  just  trounced  will  give  the  alarm,"  I 
objected.  "We'd  only  ride  into  a  trap.  Besides,  you've 
no  proof  these  prisoners  are  not  lying  to  you." 

"They  say  their  raiding  party  is  the  only  one  within 
thirty  miles.  They  rode  ahead  of  the  regiments  to  get 
first  picking.'* 

"We're  none  of  us  fit  for  anything  but  food  and  sleep," 
said  I,  and  Fred  had  to  concede  the  point. 

Fortunately  the  food  problem  was  solved  for  the  mo- 
ment by  the  Kurds,  who  had  a  sort  of  cheese  with  them 
whose  awful  taste  deprived  one  of  further  appetite.  We 
ate,  and  tied  our  two  wounded  prisoners  on  one  horse ; 
and  as  we  had  nothing  to  treat  their  wounds  with  except 
water  they  finished  their  trip  in  exquisite  discomfort. 
Surprise  that  we  should  attend  to  their  wounds  at  all, 
added  to  their  despondency  after  they  had  time  to  con- 
sider what  it  meant.  There  was  only  one  burden  to  their 
lamentation : 

"What  are  you  going  to  do  with  us  ?  We  will  tell  what 
we  know!  We  will  name  names!  We  are  your  slaves! 
We  kiss  feet !  Ask,  and  we  will  answer !" 

They  thought  they  were  being  kept  alive  for  torture, 
and  we  let  them  keep  on  thinking  it.  Fred  tied  their 
horse  to  his  own  saddle  and  towed  them  along,  singing 
at  the  top  of  his  lungs  to  keep  the  rest  of  us  awake ;  and 
for  all  his  noise  I  fell  asleep  until  he  reached  for  his  con- 
certina and,  the  humor  of  the  situation  dawning  on  him, 
commenced  a  classic  of  his  own  composition,  causing  the 
morning  to  re-echo  with  irreverence,  and  making  all  of 
us  except  the  prisoners  aware  of  the  fact  that  life  is  not 
to  be  taken  seriously,  even  in  Armenia.     The  prisoners 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  193 

intuitively  guessed  that  the  song  had  reference  to  ways 
and  means  they  would  rather  have  forgotten. 

"Ow !   i\Iy  name  it  is  'orrible  'Enery  'Emms, 

And  I  'ails  from  a  'ell  of  a  'ole ! 

The  things  I  'ave  thought  an'  the  deeds  I  'ave  did 

Are  remarkable  lawless  an'  better  kep'  hid, 

So  if  Morgan  you  think  of,  an'  Sharkey  an'  Kidd, 

Forget  'em !    To  name  such  beginners  as  them's 

An  insult,  so  shivver  my  soul ! 

Yow !    In  every  port  o'  the  whole  seven  seas 

I  'ave  two  or  three  wives  on  the  rates, 

For  I'm  free  wi'  my  fancy  an'  fly  wi'  my  picks, 

And  I've  promised  'em  plenty,  an'  given  'em  nix. 

But  have  left  ev'ry  one  in  a  'ell  of  a  fix! 

'Ooever  said  Bluebeard  was  brother  to  me's 

Either  jealous  or  misunderstates ! 

"Wow!  For  awful  atrocity,  murder  an'  theft. 

For  battery,  arson  and  hate, 

From  breakin'  the  Sabbath  to  coveting  cows. 

An'  false  affidavits  an'  perjurin'  vows, 

I'm  adept  at  whatever  the  law  disallows. 

And  the  gallowsmen  gape  at  the  noose  that  I  left. 

For  I  flit  while  the  bally  fools  wait !" 

Fred  kci)t  us  awake  all  right.     Like  most  of  his  orig- 
inal songs,  that  one  had  sixty  or  seventy  verses. 


CUI  BONO? 

Did  caution  keep  the  gates  of  Greece, 

Ye  saints  of  "safety  first!" 

Tu'ixt  Thessaly  and  Locris  when 

Leonidas'  thousand  men 

Died  scornful  of  the  proffered  peace 

Of  Xerxes  the  accurst f 

Watch  ye  have  kept,  ward  ye  have  kept, 

Btit  watch  and  ward  were  vain 

If  love  and  gratitude  have  slept 

While  ye  stood  giiard  for  gain. 

Or  ye,  who  count  the  niggard  cost 

In  time  and  coin  and  gear 

Of  succoring  the  under-dog, 

Hozv  often  have  ye  seen  a  hog. 

Establishing  his  glutton  boast, 

Survive  a  famine  year? 

Fast  ye  have  kept,  feast  ye  have  made; 

Vain  7vere  the  deeds  and  doles 

If  it  zvas  fear  that  ye  obeyed 

To  save  your  coward  soids. 

Ye  banish  beauty  to  the  stews 

For  lack  of^  eyes  that  see. 

And  stifle  joy  with  deadly  rote 

As  empty  as  the  texts  ye  quote. 

The  while  forgiveness  ye  refuse 

Lest  wrath  dishonored  be. 

Gray  are  your  days,  drab  are  your  ways. 

Strong  are  your  fashioned  bars, 

But,  ye  zvho  ask  if  service  pays — 

Who  polishes  the  stars f 


CHAPTER  TWELVE 
"America's  li'ay  zi'ith  a  xi'oman  is  beyond  belief!" 

SPRING  in  Armenia  is  almost  as  much  like  heaven  as 
heaven  itself  could  be,  if  it  were  not  for  the  im- 
speakable  Turk,  but  his  blight  rests  on  everything.  I 
could  have  kept  awake  that  morning  without  Fred's  ir- 
reverent music,  simply  for  sake  of  the  scenery,  if  its 
freshness  had  been  untainted.  But  there  hung  a  sickly, 
faint  pall  of  smoke  that  robbed  the  green  landscape  of 
all  liveliness.    One  breathed  weariness  instead  of  wine. 

We  could  not  possibly  have  lost  the  way,  because  our 
crawling  column  had  left  a  swath  behind  it  of  trampled 
grass  and  trodden  crossing-places  where  the  track  wound 
and  rewound  in  a  game  of  hide-and-seek  with  tinkling 
streams.  But  we  began  to  wonder,  nevertheless,  why 
we  caught  up  with  nobody. 

It  was  drawing  on  to  ten  in  the  morning,  and  I  had 
dozed  off  for  about  the  dozenth  time,  with  my  horse  in 
pretty  much  the  same  condition,  when  I  heard  Will's 
voice  at  last,  and  looked  up.  He  was  standing  alone  on 
a  ledge  overlooking  the  track,  but  I  could  sec  the  ends 
of  rifles  sticking  up  close  by.  If  we  had  been  an  enemy 
we  should  have  stood  small  chance  against  him. 

"Where  are  the  rest  of  you  ?"  I  asked,  and  he  laughed. 

"Women,  kids  and  wounded  all  swore  a  pitched  bat- 
tle was  raging  behind  them.  Most  of  them  wante-d  to 
turn  back  and  lend  a  hand.  I  thought  you  guys  mighty 
cruel  to  put  all  that  scare  into  a  crowd  in  their  condi- 
tion— but  I  sec — " 

195 


196  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

"Guests,  America!  My  country's  at  peace  with  Tur- 
key !    Where  shall  we  stow  our  guests  ?" 

"There's  a  village  below  here." 

He  jerked  a  thumb  over  his  shoulder.  But  behind  him 
was  the  apex  of  a  spur  thrust  out  in  midcurve  of  the 
mountainside,  and  one  could  not  see  around  that.  We 
had  emerged  out  of  the  straggling  outposts  of  the  for- 
est high  above  the  plain,  and  to  our  right  the  whole  pan- 
orama lay  snoozing  in  haze.  The  path  by  which  we  had 
turned  our  backs  on  Monty  and  Kagig  went  winding 
away  and  away  below,  here  and  there  an  infinitesimal  thin 
line  of  slightly  lighter  color,  but  more  often  suggested  by 
the  contour  of  the  hills.  Our  Zeitoonli  in  their  zeal  to 
return  to  their  leader  had  been  evidently  cutting  corners. 
If  the  smudge  of  smoke  to  the  right  front  overhung 
Marash,  then  we  were  probably  already  nearer  Zeitoon 
than  when  we  and  Kagig  parted  company. 

"Come  up  and  see  for  yourselves,"  said  Will. 

Fred  passed  the  line  that  held  his  prisoners  in  tow  to 
an  Armenian,  and  we  climbed  up  together  on  foot. 
Around  the  corner  ol  the  spur,  within  fifty  feet  of  where 
Will  stood,  was  an  almost  sheer  escarpment,  and  at  the 
foot  of  that,  a  thousand  feet  below  us,  with  ramparts  of 
living  rock  on  all  four  sides,  crouched  a  little  village 
fondled  in  the  bosom  of  the  mountains. 

"That's  where  the  rest  of  us  are,"  said  Will.  "They've 
piled  down  there  and  made  'emselves  at  home.  The 
place  was  deserted,  prob'ly  because  it  'ud  be  too  easy  to 
roll  rocks  down  into  it.  But  I  can't  make  'em  listen.  Ours 
is  a  pretty  chesty  lot,  with  guts,  and  our  taking  part  with 
'em  has  stiffened  their  courage.  They  claim  they're  goin* 
to  hold  this  rats'  nest  against  all  the  Turks  and  Kurds 
in  Asia  Minor!" 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  197 

"\Vhere*s  Miss  Vanderman?" 

"Asleep — down  in  the  village.  They're  all  asleep.  You 
guys  go  down  there  and  sleep,  too.  I'll  follow,  soon  as 
I've  posted  these  men  on  Avatch,  That  small  square  hut 
next  the  big  one  in  the  middle  is  ours.  She's  in  the  big 
one  with  a  crowd  of  w^omen.  Now  don't  make  a  fool 
row  and  wake  her !  Tie  your  horses  in  the  shade  where 
you  see  the  others  standing  in  line;  there's  a  little  corn 
for  them,  and  a  lot  of  hay  that  the  owners  left  behind." 

So  we  undertook  not  to  wake  the  lady,  and  left  Will 
there  carefully  choosing  places,  in  which  the  men  fell 
fast  asleep  almost  the  minute  his  back  was  turned.  Sleep 
was  in  the  air  that  morning — not  mere  weariness  of  mind 
and  limb  that  a  man  could  overcome,  but  inexplicable 
coma.  Whole  armies  are  affected  that  way  on  occasion. 
There  was  a  man  once  named  Sennacherib. 

"Sleepy  hollow !"  said  Fred,  and  as  he  spoke  his  horse 
pitched  forward,  almost  spilling  him ;  the  rope  that  held 
the  prisoners  in  tow  was  all  that  saved  the  lot  of  them 
from  rolling  down-hill.  Fred  dismounted,  and  drove  the 
horse  in  front  of  him  with  a  slap  on  the  rump,  but  the 
beast  was  almost  too  sleepy  to  make  the  effort  to  descend. 

There  was  no  taint  of  gas  or  poison  fumes.  The  air 
tasted  fresh  except  for  the  faint  smoke,  and  the  birds 
were  all  in  full  song.  Yet  we  all  had  to  dismount,  and 
to  let  the  prisoners  walk,  too,  because  the  horses  were  too 
drowsy  to  be  trusted.  The  ])ath  that  zigzagged  downward 
to  the  village  was  dangerous  enough  without  added  risk, 
and  the  eight  Armenian  riflemen  refused  point-blank  to 
lead  the  way  unless  they  might  drive  the  animals  ahead 
of  them. 

J>cn  so,  neither  we  nor  they  were  properly  awake 
when  we  reached  the  village.   We  tied  up  the  horses  in  a 


198  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

sort  of  dream — fed  them  from  instinct  and  habit — and 
made  our  way  to  the  hut  Will  had  pointed  out  like  men 
who  walked  in  sleep. 

Nobody  was  keeping  watch.  Nobody  noticed  our  ar- 
rival. Men  and  women  were  sleeping  in  the  streets  and 
under  the  eaves  of  the  little  houses.  Nothing  seemed 
awake  but  the  stray  dogs  nosing  at  men's  feet  and  hunt- 
ing hopelessly  among  the  bundles. 

The  little  house  Will  had  reserved  for  our  use  con- 
tained a  stool  and  a  string-cot.  On  the  stool  was  food 
■ — cheese  and  very  dry  bread;  and  because  even  in  that 
waking  dream  we  were  conscious  of  hunger,  we  ate  a 
little  of  it.  Then  we  lay  down  on  the  floor  and  fell 
asleep — we,  and  the  prisoners,  and  the  eight  Armenian 
riflemen.  Within  a  quarter  of  an  hour  Will  followed  us 
into  the  house,  but  we  knew  nothing  about  that.  Theri 
he,  too,  fell  asleep,  and  until  two  or  three  hours  after 
dark  we  were  a  village  of  the  dead. 

To  this  day  there  is  no  explaining  it.  Certainly  no 
human  watch  or  ward  saved  us  from  destruction  at  the 
hands  of  roving  enemies.  I  was  awakened  at  last  by  a 
brilliant  light,  and  the  eflfort  made  by  our  two  prisoners, 
still  tied  together,  to  crawl  across  my  body.  I  threw  them 
off  me,  and  sat  up,  rubbing  my  eyes  and  wondering  where 
I  was. 

In  the  door  stood  Kagig,  with  a  lantern  in  his  right 
hand  thrust  forward  into  the  room.  His  eyes  were  ablaze 
with  excitement,  and  between  black  beard  and  mustache 
his  teeth  showed  in  a  grin  mixed  of  scorn  and  amuse- 
ment. 

Next  I  heard  Will's  voice :  "Jimminy !"  and  Will  sat 
up.    Then  Fred  gave  tongue: 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  199 

"That  you,  Kagig?  Where's  Monty?  Where's  Lord 
Montdidier  ?" 

Kagig  strode  into  the  room,  set  the  lantern  on  the 
floor,  struck  the  remnants  of  the  food  from  off  the  httle 
stool,  and  sat  down.  I  could  see  now  that  he  was  deathly 
tired. 

"He  is  in  Zeitoon,"  he  answered. 

Noises  from  outside  began  then  to  assert  themselves 
in  demonstration  that  the  village  was  awake  at  last — 
also  that  the  population  had  swollen  while  we  slept.  I 
could  hear  the  restless  movement  of  more  than  twice  the 
number  of  horses  we  had  had  with  us. 

Kagig  began  to  laugh — a  sort  of  dry  cackle  that  in- 
cluded wonder  as  well  as  rebuke.  He  threw  both  hands 
outward,  palms  upward,  in  a  gesture  that  complemented 
the  motion  of  shoulders  shrugged  up  to  his  ears. 

"All  around — high  hills!  From  every  side  from  fifty 
places  rocks  could  have  been  rolled  upon  you !  So — and 
so  you  sleep !" 

"I  set  guards !"  Will  exploded. 

"Eleven  guards  I  found — all  together  in  one  place — 
fast  asleep !" 

He  showed  his  splendid  teeth  and  the  palms  of  his 
hands  again  in  actual  enjoyment  of  the  situation.  For 
the  first  time  then  I  saw  there  was  wet  blood  on  his  goat- 
skin coat. 

"Kagig — you're  wounded !" 

He  made  a  gesture  of  impatience. 

"It  is  nothing — nothing.  My  servant  has  attended 
to  it." 

So  Kagig  had  a  servant.  I  felt  glad  of  that.  It  meant 
a  rise  from  vagabondage  to  position  among  his  people. 


200  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

Of  all  earthly  attainments,  the  first  and  most  desirable 
and  last  to  let  go  of  is  an  honest  servant — unless  it  be  a 
friend.  (But  the  difference  is  not  so  distinct  as  it 
sounds.) 

A  huge  fear  suddenly  seized  Fred  Oakes. 

"You  said  Monty  is  in  Zeitoon — alive  or  dead?  Quick, 
man !  Answer !" 

"Should  I  leave  Zeitoon,"  Kagig  answered  slowly, 
^'unless  I  left  a  better  man  in  charge  behind  me?  He  is 
alive  in  Zeitoon — alive — alive !  He  is  my  brother !  He 
and  I  love  one  purpose  with  a  strong  love  that  shall  con- 
quer! You  speak  to  me  of  Lord  what-is-it?  Hah!  To 
me  forever  he  is  Monty,  my  brother — my — " 

"Where's  Miss  Vanderman?"  I  interrupted. 

"Here !"  she  said  quietly,  and  I  turned  my  head  to  dis- 
cover her  sitting  beside  Will  in  the  shadow  cast  by  Ka- 
gig's  lantern.  She  must  have  entered  ahead  of  Kagig  or 
close  behind  him,  unseen  because  of  his  bulk  and  the 
tricky  light  that  he  swung  in  his  right  hand. 

Kagig  went  on  as  if  he  had  not  heard  me. 

"There  is  a  castle — I  think  I  told  you? — perched  on  a 
crag  in  the  forest  beside  Zeitoon.  My  men  have  cut  a 
passage  to  it  through  the  trees,  for  it  had  stood  forgotten 
for  God  knows  how  long.  Later  you  shall  understand. 
There  came  Arabaiji,  riding  a  mule  to  death,  saying  you 
and  this  lady  are  in  danger  of  life  at  the  hands  of  my 
nation.  I  did  not  believe  that,  but  Monty — he  believed  it." 

"And  I'll  wager  you  found  him  a  hot  handful!'* 
laughed  Fred. 

"Not  so  hot.  Not  so  hot.  But  very  determined.  Later 
you  shall  understand.  He  and  I  drove  a  bargain.'* 

"Dammit!'*  Fred  rose  to  his  feet.  "D'you  mean  you 
used  our  predicament  as  a  club  to  drive  him  with  ?'* 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  201 

Kagig  laughed  dryly. 

"Do  you  know  your  friend  so  little,  and  think  so  ill  of 
me?  He  named  terms,  and  I  agreed  to  them.  I  took  a 
hundred  mounted  men  to  find  you  and  bring  3'ou  to 
Zeitoon,  spreading  them  out  like  a  fan,  to  scour  the 
country.  Some  fell  in  with  a  thing  the  Turks  call  a 
hamidleh  regiment;  that  is  a  rabble  of  Kurds  under  Uie 
command  of  Tenekelis." 

"What  are  they?" 

"Tenekelis?  The  word  means  'tin-plate  men.'  We  call 
them  that  because  of  the  tin  badges  given  them  to  wear 
in  their  head-dress.  In  no  other  way  do  they  resemble 
officers.  They  are  brigands  favored  by  official  recogni- 
tion, that  is  all.  Their  purpose  is  to  pillage  Armenians. 
A\'hile  you  slept  in  this  village,  and  your  watchmen  slept 
up  above  there,  that  whole  rabble  of  bandits  with  their 
tin-plate  officers  passed  within  half  a  mile,  following 
along  the  track  by  which  you  came!  If  you  had  been 
awake — and  cooking — or  singing — or  making  any  sort 
of  noise  they  must  have  heard  you !  Instead,  they  turned 
down  toward  the  plain  a  little  short  distance  too  soon — 
and  my  men  met  them — and  there  was  a  skirmish — and 
I  rallied  my  other  men,  and  attacked  them  suddenly.  We 
accounted  for  two  of  the  tin-plate  men,  and  so  many  of 
the  thing  they  call  a  regiment  that  the  others  took  to 
flight.  Jamiam!  (My  soul  I)  But  you  arc  paragons  of 
sleepers !" 

"Do  you  never  sleep  ?"  I  asked  him. 

"Shall  a  man  keep  watch  over  a  nation,  and  sleep?" 
he  answered.  "Aye — here  a  little,  there  a  little,  I  snatch 
sleep  when  I  can.  My  heart  burns  in  me.  I  shall  sleep 
on  my  horse  on  the  way  back  to  Zeitoon,  but  the  burning 
within  will  waken  me  by  fits  and  starts." 


202  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

He  got  up  and  stood  very  politely  in  front  of  Gloria 
Vanderman,  removing  his  cossack  kalpak  for  the  first 
time  and  holding  it  with  a  peculiar  suggestion  of  hu- 
mility. 

"You  shall  be  put  to  no  indignity  at  the  hands  of  my 
people,"  he  said.  "They  are  not  bad  people,  but  they 
have  suffered,  and  some  have  been  made  afraid.  They 
would  have  kept  you  safe.  But  now  you  shall  have 
twenty  men  if  you  wish,  and  they  shall  deliver  you  safely 
into  Tarsus.  If  you  wish  it,  I  will  send  one  of  these 
gentlemen  with  you  to  keep  you  in  countenance  before 
my  men ;  they  are  foreigners  to  you,  and  no  one  could 
blame  you  for  fearing  them.  The  gentleman  would  not 
wish  to  go,  but  I  would  send  him  !" 

She  shook  her  head,  pretty  merrily  for  a  girl  in  her 
predicament. 

"I  was  curious  to  meet  you,  Mr.  Kagig,  but  that's  noth-r 
ing  to  the  attraction  that  draws  me  now.  I  must  meet 
the  other  man — is  it  Monty  you  all  call  him — or  never 
know  a  moment's  peace !" 

"You  mean  you  will  not  go  to  Tarsus  ?" 

"Of  course  I  won't !" 

"Of  course !"  laughed  Fred.   "Any  young  woman — " 

"Of  course?"  Kagig  repeated  the  extravagant  gesture 
of  shrugged  shoulders  and  up-turned  palms.  "Ah,  well. 
You  are  American.  I  will  not  argue.  What  would  be 
the  use  ?" 

He  turned  his  back  on  us  and  strode  out  with  that  air 
that  not  even  the  great  stage-actors  can  ever  acquire,  of 
becoming  suddenly  and  utterly  oblivious  of  present  com- 
pany in  the  consciousness  of  deeds  that  need  attention. 
Generals  of  command,  great  captains  of  industry,  and  a 
few  rare  statesmen  have  it;  but  the  statesmen  are  most 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  203 

rare,  because  they  are  trained  to  pretend,  and  therefore 
unconvincing.  The  generals  and  captains  are  detested 
for  it  by  all  who  have  never  humbled  themselves  to  the 
point  where  they  can  think,  and  be  unselfishly  absorbed. 
Kagig  stepped  out  of  one  zone  of  thought  into  the  next, 
and  shut  the  door  behind  him. 

A  minute  later  we  heard  his  voice  uplifted  in  com- 
mand, and  the  business  of  shepherding  those  women  and 
children  was  taken  out  of  our  hands  by  a  man  who  un- 
derstood the  business.  The  intoxicating  sounds  that 
armed  men  make  as  they  evolve  formation  out  of  chaos 
in  the  darkness  came  in  through  open  door  and  win- 
dows, and  in  another  moment  Kagig  was  back  again  with 
a  hand  on  each  door-post. 

"You  have  brought  all  those  cartridges !" 

He  thrust  out  both  hands  in  front  of  him,  and  made 
the  knuckles  of  every  finger  crack  like  castanets.  In 
another  second  he  was  gone  again.  But  we  knew  we 
were  now  forgiven  all  our  sins  of  omission. 

Somewhere  about  midnight,  with  a  nearly  full  moon 
rising  in  a  golden  dream  above  the  rim  of  the  ravine,  we 
started.  And  no  wheeled  vehicle  could  have  followed  by 
the  track  we  took.  It  was  no  mean  task  for  men  on  foot, 
and  our  burdened  animals  had  to  be  given  time.  Whether 
or  not  Kagig  slept,  as  he  had  said  he  would,  on  horse- 
back, he  kept  himself  and  our  ])risoners  out  of  sight 
somewhere  in  the  van ;  and  this  time  the  rear  was  brought 
up  by  a  squadron  of  ragged  irregular  horse  that  would 
have  made  any  old  campaigner  choke  with  joy  to  look  at 
them. 

Drill  those  men  knew  very  little  of — only  sufficient  to 
make  it  possible  to  lead  them.  No  two  men  were  dressed 
alike,  and  some  were  not  even  armed  alike,  although 


2(H  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

stolen  Turkish  government  rifles  far  predominated.  But 
they  wore  unanimously  that  dare-devil  air,  not  swagger- 
ing because  there  is  no  need,  that  has  been  the  key  to 
most  of  the  sublime  surprises  of  all  war.  The  com- 
mander, whose  men  sit  that  way  in  the  saddle  and  toss 
those  jokes  shoulder  over  shoulder  down  the  line,  dare 
tackle  forlorn  hopes  that  would  seem  sheer  leap-year 
lunacy  to  the  martinet  with  twenty  times  their  number. 

"Who'd  have  thought  it  ?"  said  Fred.  "We've  all  heard 
the  Turk  was  a  first-class  fighting  man,  but  I'd  rather 
command  fifty  of  these  than  any  five  hundred  Turks  I 
ever  sav/ !" 

There  was  no  gainsaying  that.  Whoever  had  seen 
armies  with  an  understanding  eye  must  have  agreed. 

"Turks  don't  hate  Armenians  for  their  faults,"  I  an- 
swered. "From  what  I  know  of  the  Turk  he  likes  sin, 
and  prefers  it  cardinal.  If  Armenians  were  mere  de- 
generates, or  murdering  ruffians  like  the  Kurds,  the  Turk 
would  like  them." 

Fred  laughed. 

"Then  if  a  Turk  liked  me,  you'd  doubt  my  social  fit- 
ness ?" 

"Sure  I  would,  if  he  liked  you  well  enough  to  attract 
attention.  The  fact  that  the  Turk  hates  Armenians  is  thfe 
best  advertisement  Armenians  have  got." 

We  were  entering  the  heart  of  savage  hills  that  tossed 
themselves  in  ever  increasing  grandeur  up  toward  the 
mist-draped  crags  of  Kara  Dagh,  following  a  trail  that 
was  mostly  watercourse.  The  simple  savagery  of  the 
mountains  laid  naked  to  view  in  the  liquid  golden  light 
stirred  the  Armenians  behind  us  to  the  depths  of  thought; 
and  theirs  is  a  consciousness  of  warring  history ;  of  do- 
minion long  since  taken  from  them,  and  debauched  like 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  205 

pearls  by  swine;  of  hope,  eternally  upwelling,  born  of 
love  of  their  trampled  fatherland.  They  began  to  sing, 
and  the  weft  and  woof  of  their  songs  were  grief  for  all 
those  things  and  a  cherished,  secret  promise  that  a  limit 
had  been  set  to  their  nation's  agony. 

In  his  own  way,  with  his  chosen,  unchaste  instrument 
Fred  is  a  musician  of  parts.  He  can  pick  out  the  spirit 
of  old  songs,  even  when,  as  then,  he  hears  them  for  the 
first  time,  and  make  his  concertina  interpret  them  to 
wood  and  wind  and  sky.  Indoors  he  is  a  mere  accom- 
panist, and  in  polite  society  his  muse  is  dumb.  But  in  the 
open,  given  fair  excuse  and  the  opportunity,  he  can  make 
such  music  as  compels  men's  ears  and  binds  their  hearts 
with  his  in  common  understanding. 

Because  of  Fred's  concertina,  quite  without  knowing 
it,  those  Armenians  opened  their  hearts  to  us  that  night, 
so  that  when  a  day  of  testing  came  they  regarded  us 
unconsciously  as  friends.  Taught  by  the  atrocity  of  cruel 
centuries  to  mistrust  even  one  another,  they  would  surely 
have  doubted  us  otherwise,  when  crisis  came.  Nobody 
knows  better  than  the  lurk  how  to  corrupt  morality  and 
friendship,  and  Armenia  is  honeycombed  with  the  rust  of 
mutual  suspicion.  But  real  music  is  magic  stuff.  No 
Turktknows  any  magic. 

At  dawn,  twisting  and  zigzagging  in  among  the  ril)s  of 
rock-l^ound  hills,  we  sighted  the  summit  of  Beirut  Dagh 
all  wreathed  in  jeweled  mist.  Then  the  only  life  in  sight 
except  ourselves  was  eagles,  nervously  obsessed  with 
goings-on  on  the  horizon.  I  counted  as  many  as  a  dozen 
at  one  time,  wheeling  swiftly,  and  circling  higher  for  a 
wider  view,  but  not  one  swooped  to  strike. 

Once,  as  we  turned  into  a  track  that  they  told  us  led 
to  El  Oghlu,  we  saw  on  a  hill  to  our  left  a  small  square 


206  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

building,  gutted  by  fire.  Twenty  yards  away  from  it,  on 
top  of  the  same  round  hill,  strange  fruit  was  hanging 
from  a  larger  oak  than  any  we  had  seen  thereabouts — 
fruit  that  swung  unseemly  in  the  tainted  wind. 

"Turks !"  announced  one  of  Kagig's  men,  riding  up  to 
brag  to  us.  "That  square  building  is  the  guard-house  for 
the  zaptieh,  put  there  by  the  government  to  keep  check 
on  robbers.  They  are  the  worst  robbers !" 

The  man  spoke  English  with  the  usual  mission-school 
air  suggestive  of  underdone  pie.  As  a  rule  they  go  to 
school  at  such  great  sacrifice,  and  then  so  limited  for 
funds,  that  they  have  to  get  by  heart  three  times  the 
amount  an  ordinary,  undriven  youth  can  learn  in  the 
allotted  time.  But  by  heart  they  have  it.  And  like  the 
pie  they  call  to  mind,  only  the  surface  of  their  talk  is 
pale.  Because  their  heart  is  in  the  thing,  they  under- 
stand. 

"By  hanging  Turkish  police,"  said  Fred,  "you  only 
give  the  Turks  a  good  excuse  for  murdering  your 
friends." 

"Come !"  said  the  man  of  Zeitoon.  "See." 

He  led  the  way  down  a  path  between  young  trees  to  a 
clearing  where  a  swift  stream  gamboled  in  the  sun. 
Down  at  the  end  of  it,  where  the  grass  sloped  gently 
upward  toward  the  flanks  of  a  great  rock  was  a  little 
row  of  graves  with  a  cross  made  of  sticks  at  the  head  of 
each — clearly  not  Turkish  graves. 

"Three  men — eleven  women,"  our  guide  said  simply. 

"You  mean  that  the  Turkish  police — " 

"There  were  fifteen  on  their  way  to  Zeitoon.  One  sur- 
vived, and  reached  Zeitoon,  and  told.  Then  he  died,  and 
we  rode  down  to  avenge  them  all.  The  Turks  took^.the. 
three  men  and  beat  them  on  the  feet  with  sticks  until  the 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  207 

soles  of  their  feet  swelled  up  and  burst.  Then  they  made 
them  walk  on  their  tortured  feet.  Then  they  beat  them 
to  death.   Shall  I  say  what  they  did  to  the  women  ?" 

"What  did  you  do  to  the  Turks  ?"  said  I. 

"Hanged  them.  We  are  not  animals — we  simply 
hanged  them." 

Somewhere  about  noon  we  rode  down  a  gorge  into  the 
village  of  El  Oghlu.  It  was  a  miserable  place,  with  a 
miserable,  tiny  kaJivch  in  the  midst  of  it,  and  Kagig  set 
that  alight  before  our  end  of  the  column  came  within  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  of  it.  W^e  burned  the  rest  of  the  vil- 
lage, for  he  sent  back  Ephraim  to  order  no  shelter  left 
for  the  regiments  that  would  surely  come  and  hunt  us 
down.  But  the  business  took  time,  and  we  were  farther 
than  ever  behind  Kagig  when  the  last  wooden  roof  began 
to  cockle  and  crack  in  the  heat. 

Will  and  Gloria  were  somewhere  on  in  front,  and  Fred 
and  I  began  to  put  on  speed  to  try  to  overtake  them. 
But  from  the  time  of  leaving  the  burned  village  of  El 
Oghlu  there  began  to  be  a  new  impediment. 

"We  are  not  taking  the  shortest  way,"  said  Ephraim. 
"The  shortest  way  is  too  narrow — good  for  one  or  two 
men  in  a  hurry,  but  not  for  all  of  us." 

We  were  gaining  no  speed  by  taking  the  easier  road. 
There  began  to  be  vultures  in  evidence,  mostly  half- 
gorged,  flopping  about  from  one  orgy  to  the  next.  And 
out  from  among  the  rocks  and  bushes  there  came  fugitive 
Armenians — famished  and  wounded  men  and  women, 
clinging  to  our  stirrups  and  begging  for  a  lift  on  the  way 
to  Zeitoon.  Zcitoon  was  their  one  hope.  They  were 
all  headed  that  way. 

Fred  detacbcfl  a  dozen  mounted  men  to  linger  behind 
on  guard  against  pursuit,  and  the  rest  of  us  overloaded 


208  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

our  horses  with  women  and  children,  giving  up  all  hope 
of  overtaking  Gloria  and  Will,  forgetting  that  they  had 
come  first  on  the  scene.  In  my  mind  I  imagined  them 
riding  side  by  side.  Will  with  his  easy  cowboy  seat,  and 
Gloria  looking  like  a  boy  except  for  the  chestnut  hair. 
But  that  imagination  went  the  way  of  other  vanities. 

There  was  neither  pleasure  nor  advantage  in  striding 
slowly  beside  my  laboring  horse,  nor  any  hope  of  mount- 
ing him  again  myself.  So  I  walked  ahead  and,  beings  now 
horseless,  ceased  to  be  mobbed  by  fugitives.  At  the  end 
of  an  hour  I  overtook  two  horses  loaded  with  little  chil- 
dren; but  there  was  no  sign  of  Gloria  and  Will,  and 
losing  zest  for  the  pursuit  as  the  sun  grew  stronger  I  sat 
down  by  the  wayside  on  a  fallen  tree. 

It  was  then  that  I  heard  voices  that  I  recognized.  The 
first  was  a  woman's. 

"I'm  simply  crazy  to  know  him." 

A  man's,  that  I  could  not  mistake  even  amid  the  roar 
of  a  city,  answered  her. 

"You've  a  treat  in  store.  Monty  is  my  idea  of  a  reg- 
ular he-man." 

"Is  he  good-looking?" 

"Yes.  Stands  and  looks  like  a  soldier.  I've  seen  a 
plainsman  in  Wyoming  who'd  have  matched  him  to  a  T 
all  except  the  parted  hair  and  the  mustache.'* 

"I  like  a  mustache  on  a  tall  man." 

"It  suits  Monty.  The  first  idea  you  get  of  him  is 
strength — strength  and  gentleness ;  and  it  grows  on  you 
as  you  know  him  better.  It's  not  just  muscles,  nor  yet 
will-power,  but  strength  that  makes  your  heart  flutter, 
and  you  know  for  a  moment  how  a  woman  must  feel 
when  a  fellow  asks  her  to  be  his  wife.    That's  Monty." 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  209 

I  got  up  and  retraced  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  to  wait  for 
Fred  where  I  could  not  accuse  myself  of  "listening  in." 

"Fred,"  I  said,  when  he  overtook  me  at  last  and  we 
strode  along  side  by  side,  "you  were  right.  America's 
way  with  a  woman  is  beyond  belief  !" 

I  told  him  what  I  had  heard,  and  he  thought  a  while. 

"How  about  Maga  Jhaere's  way,  when  she  and  Will 
and  the  Vanderman  meet?"  he  said  at  last,  smiling 
grimly. 


"TO-MORROW  WE  DIE" 

All  that  is  cynical;  all  that  refuses 

Trust  in  an  altruist  aim; 

Every  specious  plea  that  excuses 

Creed  in  necessity's  name; 

Studied  indifference;  scorn  that  amuses; 

Cleverness,  shifting  the  blame; 

Selfishness,  pitying  trtcst  it  abuses — 

Treason  and  these  are  the  same. 

Finally,  when  the  last  lees  ye  shall  turn  from 

(E'en  intellectuals  flinch  in  the  end!) 

Ashes  of  loneliness  then  ye  shall  learn  from — 

All  that's  -worth  keeping's  the  faith  of  a  friend. 


CHAPTER  THIRTEEN 

"  'Take  your  squadron  mid  go  find  him,  Rustiim  Khan!' 
And  I,  sahib,  obeyed  my  lord  Bahadur's  orders." 

"I^TEVER  to  be  forgotten  is  that  journey  to  Zeitoon. 
^^  We  threaded  toward  the  heart  of  opal  mountains 
along  tracks  that  nothing  on  wheels — not  even  a  wheel- 
barrow— could  have  followed.  Perpetually  on  our  right 
there  kept  appearing  brilliant  green  patches  of  young  rice, 
more  full  of  livid  light  than  flawless  emeralds.  And,  as 
in  all  rice  country,  there  were  countless  watercourses 
with  frequently  impracticable  banks  along  w'hich  fugi- 
tives felt  their  way  miserably,  too  fearful  of  pursuit  to 
risk  following  the  bridle  track. 

There  is  a  delusion  current  that  fugitives  go  fast.  But 
it  stands  to  reason  they  do  not ;  least  of  all,  unarmed  peo- 
ple burdened  with  children  and  odds  and  ends  of  hastily 
snatched  household  goods.  We  found  them  hiding  every- 
where to  sleep  and  rest  lacerated  feet,  and  there  was 
not  a  mile  of  all  that  distance  that  did  not  add  twenty  or 
thirty  stragglers  to  our  column,  risen  at  sight  of  us  out 
of  their  lurking  places.  We  scared  at  least  as  many 
more  into  deeper  hiding,  without  blame  to  them,  for 
there  was  no  reason  why  they  should  know  us  at  a  dis- 
tance from  ofificial  murderers.  Hamidich  regiments,  the 
militia  of  that  land,  wear  uniforms  of  their  own  choos- 
ing, which  is  mostly  their  ordinary  clothes  and  weapons 
added. 

With  snow-crowned  Beirut  Dagh  frowning  down  over 
us,  and  tlie  track  growing  every  minute  less  convenient 

211 


212  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

for  horse  or  man,  word  came  from  the  rear  that  the 
Jiamidich  were  truly  on  our  trail.  Then  we  had  our  first 
real  taste  of  what  Armenians  could  do  against  drilled 
Turks,  and  even  before  Fred  and  I  could  get  in  touch 
with  Will  and  Gloria  we  realized  that  whether  or  not 
we  took  part  with  them  there  was  going  to  be  no  stam- 
pede by  the  men- folk. 

Nothing  would  persuade  Gloria  to  go  on  to  Zeitoon 
and  announce  our  coming.  Kagig  came  galloping  back 
and  found  us  four  met  together  by  a  little  horsetail  wa- 
terfall. He  ordered  her  peremptorily  to  hurry  and  find 
Monty,  but  she  simply  ignored  him.  In  another  moment 
he  was  too  bent  on  shepherding  the  ammunition  cases 
to  give  her  a  further  thought. 

Men  began  to  gather  around  him,  and  he  to  issue  or- 
ders. They  had  either  to  kill  him  or  obey.  He  struck 
at  them  with  a  rawhide  whip,  and  spurred  his  horse  sav- 
agely at  every  little  clump  of  men  disposed  to  air  their 
own  views. 

"You  see,"  he  laughed,  "unanimity  Is  lacking !"  Then 
his  manner  changed  back  to  irritation.  "In  the  name 
of  God,  effcndim,  what  manner  of  sportmen  are  you? 
Will  not  each  of  you  take  a  dozen  men  and  go  and  de- 
stroy those  cursed  Turks?"  (They  call  every  man  a 
Turk  in  that  land  who  thinks  and  acts  like  one,  be  he 
Turk,  Arab,  Kurd  or  Circassian.) 

It  was  all  opposed  to  the  consul's  plan,  and  lawless 
by  any  reckoning.  To  attack  the  troops  of  a  country 
with  which  our  own  governments  were  not  at  war  was  to 
put  our  heads  in  a  noose  in  all  likelihood.  Perhaps  if 
he  had  called  us  by  any  other  name  than  "sportmen"  we 
might  have  seen  it  in  that  light,  and  have  told  him  to 
protect  us  according  to  contract.    But  he  used  the  right 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  213 

word  and  we  jumped  at  the  idea,  although  Gloria,  who 
had  no  notions  about  international  diplomacy,  was  easily 
first  with  her  hat  in  the  ring. 

"I'll  lead  some  men!"  she  shouted.  "Who'll  follow 
me?"  Her  voice  rang  clear  with  the  virtue  won  on  col- 
lege playing  fields. 

"Nothing  to  it !"  Will  insisted  promptly,  "Here,  you, 
Kagig — I'll  make  a  bargain  with  you !" 

"Watch !"  Fred  whispered.  "Will  is  now  going  to  sell 
two  comrades  in  the  market  for  his  first  love !  D'you 
blame  him  ?    But  it  won't  work  !" 

"Send  Miss  Vanderman  to  Zeitoon  with  an  escort  and 
we  three — " 

"What  did  I  tell  you?"  Fred  chuckled. 

" — will  fight  for  you  all  you  like !" 

But  Gloria  had  a  dozen  men  already  swarming  to  her, 
with  never  a  symptom  of  shame  to  be  captained  by  a 
woman ;  and  others  were  showing  signs  of  inclination. 
She  turned  her  back  on  us,  and  I  saw  three  men  hustle 
a  fourth,  who  had  both  feet  in  bandages,  until  he  gave 
her  his  rifle  and  bandolier.  She  tossed  him  a  laugh  by 
way  of  compensation,  and  he  seemed  content,  although 
he  had  parted  with  more  than  the  equivalent  of  a  fortune. 

"That  girl,"  said  Kagig,  from  the  vantage  point  of  his 
great  horse,  "is  like  the  brave  Zeitoonli  wives !  They 
fight !  They  can  lead  in  a  pinch !  They  are  as  good  as 
men — better  than  men,  for  they  think  they  know  less!" 

Fred  swiftly  gathered  himself  a  company  of  his  own, 
the  older  men  electing  to  follow  his  lead.  Gloria  had 
the  cream  of  the  younger  ones — men  who  in  an  earlier 
age  would  have  gone  into  battle  wearing  a  woman's 
glove  or  handkerchief — twenty  or  thirty  youths  blazing 
with  the  fire  of  youth.     Will  went  hot-foot  after  her 


214  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

with  most  of  the  Enghsh-speaklng  contingent  from  the 
mission  schools.  Kagig  had  the  faithful  few  who  had 
rallied  to  him  from  the  first — the  fighting  men  of  Zei- 
toon  proper,  including  all  the  tough  rear-guard  who  had 
sent  the  warning  and  remained  faithfully  in  touch  with 
the  enemy  until  their  chief  should  come. 

That  left  for  me  the  men  who  knew  no  English,  and 
Ephraim  was  enough  of  a  politician  to  see  the  advantage 
to  himself  of  deserting  Fred's  standard  for  mine;  for 
Fred  could  talk  Armenian,  and  give  his  own  orders,  but 
I  needed  an  interpreter.  I  welcomed  him  at  the  first  ex- 
change of  compliments,  but  met  him  eye  to  eye  a  second 
later  and  began  to  doubt. 

"I'm  going  to  hold  these  men  in  reserve,"  I  told  him, 
"until  I  know  where  they'll  do  most  good.  You  know 
this  country?  Take  high  ground,  then,  where  we  can 
overlook  what's  going  on  and  get  into  the  fight  to  best 
advantage." 

"But  the  others  will  get  the  credit,"  he  began  to  ob- 
ject. 

"I'll  ask  Kagig  for  another  interpreter.     Wait  here." 

At  that  he  yielded  the  point  and  explained  my  orders 
to  the  men,  who  began  to  obey  them  willingly  enough. 
But  he  went  on  talking  to  them  rapidly  as  we  diverged 
from  the  path  the  others  had  taken  and  ascended  a  trail 
that  wild  goats  would  have  reveled  in,  along  the  right 
flank  of  where  fighting  was  likely  to  take  place.  I  did 
not  doubt  he  was  establishing  notions  of  his  own  im- 
portance, and  with  some  success. 

Firing  commenced  away  in  front  and  below  us  within 
ten  minutes  of  the  start,  but  it  was  an  hour  before  I 
could  command  the  scene  with  field-glasses,  and  ten 
minutes  after  that  before  I  could  make  out  the  positions 


.  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  215 

of  our  people,  although  the  enemy  were  soon  evident — • 
a  long,  irregular,  ragged-looking  line  of  cavalry  thrust- 
ing lances  into  every  hole  that  could  possibly  conceal  an 
Armenian,  and  an  almost  equally  irregular  line  of  un- 
mounted men  in  front  of  them,  firing  not  very  cautiously 
nor  accurately  from  under  random  cover. 

It  became  pretty  evident,  after  studying  the  positions 
for  about  fifteen  minutes  and  sweeping  every  contour  of 
the  ground  through  glasses,  that  the  enemy  had  no  chance 
whatever  of  breaking  through  unless  the}'-  could  outflank 
Kagig's  line.  I  held  such  impregnable  advantage  of 
heiglit  and  cover  and  clear  view  that  the  men  I  had  with 
me  were  ample  to  prevent  the  turning  of  our  right  wing. 
Our  left  flank  rested  on  the  brawling  Jihun  River  that 
wound  in  and  out  between  the  rice  fields  and  the  rocky 
foot-hills.  There  lay  the  weakness  of  our  position,  and 
more  than  once  I  caught  sight  of  Kagig  spurring  his 
horse  from  cover  to  cover  to  place  his  men.  Once  I 
thought  I  recognized  Fred,  too,  over  near  the  river-bank ; 
but  of  Will  or  of  Gloria  I  saw  nothing. 

It  was  obvious  that  if  reserves  were  needed  anywhere 
it  would  be  over  on  that  left  flank  by  the  fordable  Jihun. 
Ephraim  saw  that,  and  proceeded  to  preach  it  like  gospel 
to  the  men  before  consulting  me.  Then,  arrogant  in  the 
consciousness  of  majority  approval,  he  came  and  ad- 
vised me. 

"Those — ah — hamidich  not  coming  this — ah — way.  We 
cross  over  to — ah — other  side.  Then  Kagig  is  being 
pleased  with  us.     I  give  orders — yes?" 

lie  did  not  propose  to  wait  for  my  consent,  but  I  de- 
tained him  with  a  hand  on  his  shoulder.  It  would  have 
taken  us  two  hours  to  get  into  position  by  the  river-bank. 

"Find  out  how  many  of  the  men  can  ride,"  I  ordered. 


216  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

Taken  by  surprise  he  called  out  the  inquiry  without 
stopping  to  discover  my  purpose  first.  It  transpired 
there  were  seventeen  men  who  had  been  accustomed  to 
horseback  riding  since  their  youth.  That  would  leave 
nine  men  for  another  purpose.  I  separated  sheep  from 
goats,  and  made  over  the  nine  to  Ephraim. 

"You  and  these  nine  stay  here,"  I  ordered,  "and  hold 
this  flank  until  Kagig  makes  a  move."  I  did  not  doubt 
Kagig  would  fall  back  on  Zeitoon  as  soon  as  he  could  do 
that  with  advantage.  Neither  did  I  doubt  Ephraim's 
ability  to  spoil  my  whole  plan  if  he  should  see  fit.  Yet  I 
had  to  depend  on  his  powers  as  interpreter. 

There  are  two  ways  of  relieving  a  weak  wing,  and  the 
obvious  one  of  reenforcing  it  is  not  of  necessity  the 
best.  I  could  see  through  the  glasses  a  bowl  of  hollow 
grazing  ground  in  which  the  dismounted  Kurds  had  left 
their  horses ;  and  I  could  count  only  five  men  guarding 
them.  ]\Iost  of  the  horses  seemed  to  be  tied  head  to 
head  by  the  reins,  but  some  were  hobbled  and  grazing 
close  together. 

"Tell  these  seventeen  men  I  have  chosen  that  I  pro- 
pose to  creep  up  to  the  enemy's  horses  and  steal  or  else 
stampede  them,"  I  ordered. 

Ephraim  hesitated.  Glittering  eyes  betrayed  fear  to 
be  left  out  of  an  adventure,  disgust  to  see  his  own  advice 
ignored,  and  yet  that  he  was  alert  to  the  advantage  of 
being  left  with  a  lone  command. 

"But  we  should — ah — cross  to  the — ah — other  side  and 
^_ah — help  Kagig,"  he  objected.  Perhaps  he  hoped  to 
build  political  influence  on  the  basis  of  his  own  account 
to  Kagig  afterward  of  how  he  had  argued  for  the  saner 
course. 

"Please  explain  what  I  have  said — exactly!" 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  2X7. 

He  continued  to  hesitate.  I  could  see  the  Kurdish 
riflemen  responding  to  orders  from  their  rear  and  be- 
ginning to  concentrate  in  the  direction  of  our  left  wing. 
Our  center,  where  Gloria  and  A\'^ill  were  probably  con- 
cealed by  rocks  and  foliage,  poured  a  galling  fire  on  them, 
and  they  had  to  re-form,  and  detach  a  considerable  com- 
pany to  deal  with  that;  but  two-thirds  of  their  number 
surged  toward  our  left,  and  if  my  plan  was  to  succeed 
almost  the  chief  element  was  time. 

"But  Kagig  will—" 

One  of  the  men  had  a  hide  rope,  very  likely  looted  from 
the  village  we  had  burned.  I  took  it  from  him  and  tied 
a  running  noose  in  the  end.  Then  I  made  the  other  end 
fast  to  the  roots  of  a  tree  that  had  been  rain-washed  un- 
til they  projected  naked  over  fifty  feet  of  sheer  rock. 

"Now,"  I  said,  "explain  what  I  said,  or  I'll  hang  you 
in  sight  of  both  sides!" 

I  wondered  whether  he  would  not  turn  the  tables  and 
hang  me.  I  knew  I  would  not  have  been  willing  to  lessen 
Kagig's  chances  by  shooting  any  of  them  if  they  had  de- 
cided to  take  Ephraim's  part.  But  the  politician  in  the 
man  was  uppermost  and  he  did  not  force  the  issue. 

"All  right,  cffcndi — oh,  all  right !"  he  answered,  trying 
to  laugh  the  matter  off. 

"Explain  to  thein,  then  !" 

I  made  him  do  it  half  a  dozen  times,  for  once  we  were 
on  our  way  along  the  precipitous  sides  of  the  hills  the 
only  control  I  should  have  would  be  force  of  example, 
aided  to  some  extent  by  the  sort  of  primitive  signals  that 
pass  muster  even  in  a  kindergarten.  If  they  should  talk 
Turkish  to  me  slowly  I  might  understand  a  little  here 
and  there,  but  to  speak  it  myself  was  quite  another  mat- 
ter; and   in   common    with   most   of   their   countrymen. 


218  THE  EYE  OE  ZEITOON 

though  they  understood  Turkish  perfectly  and  all  that 
went  with  it,  they  would  rather  eat  dirt  than  foul  their 
mouths  with  the  language  of  the  hated  conqueror. 

But,  once  explained,  the  plan  was  as  obvious  as  the  risk 
entailed,  and  they  approved  the  one  as  sv^iftly  as  they  de- 
spised the  other.  The  Kurds  below  were  not  oblivious 
to  the  risk  of  reprisals  from  the  hills,  and  we  spent  five 
minutes  picking  out  the  men  posted  to  keep  watch,  making 
careful  note  of  their  positions.  At  the  point  where  we 
decided  to  debouch  on  to  the  plain  there  were  two  sen- 
tries taking  matters  fairly  easy,  and  I  told  off  four  men  to 
go  on  ahead  and  attend  to  those  as  silently  as  might  be. 

Then  we  started — not  close  together,  for  the  Kurds 
would  certainly  be  looking  out  for  an  attack  from  the 
hills  in  force,  and  would  not  be  expecting  individuals — ■ 
but  one  at  a  time,  two  Armenians  leading,  and  the  rest 
of  them  following  me  at  intervals  of  more  than  fifty 
yards. 

At  the  moment  of  starting  I  gave  Ephraim  another  or- 
der, and  within  two  hours  owed  my  life  and  that  of  most 
of  my  men  to  his  disobedience. 

■'You  stay  here  with  your  handful,  and  don't  budge 
except  as  Kagig  moves  his  line!  Few  as  you  are,  you 
can  hold  this  flank  safe  if  you  stay  firm." 

He  stayed  firm  until  the  last  of  my  seventeen  had  dis- 
appeared around  the  corner  of  the  cliff;  and  five  min- 
utes later  I  caught  sight  of  him  through  the  glasses, 
leading  his  following  at  top  speed  downward  along  a  spur 
toward  the  plain.  The  Kurds  on  the  lookout  saw  him 
too  and,  concentrating  their  attention  on  him,  did  not  no- 
tice us  when  we  dodged  at  long  intervals  in  full  sunlight 
across  the  face  of  a  white  rock. 

There  was  little  leading  needed ;  rather,  restraining,  and 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  219 

no  means  of  doing  it.  Instead  of  keeping  the  formation 
in  which  we  started  off,  those  in  the  rear  began  to  over- 
take the  men  in  front  and,  rather  than  disobey  the  order 
to  keep  wide  intervals,  to  extend  down  the  face  of  the 
hill,  so  that  within  fifteen  minutes  we  were  in  wide- 
spaced  skirmishing  order.  Then,  instead  of  keeping  along 
the  hills,  as  I  had  intended,  until  we  were  well  to  the  rear 
of  the  Kurdish  firing-line,  they  turned  half-left  too  soon, 
and  headed  in  diagonal  bee  line  toward  the  horses,  those 
who  had  begun  by  leading  being  last  now,  and  the  last 
men  first.  Being  shorter-winded  than  the  rest  of  them 
and  more  tired  to  begin  with,  that  arrangement  soon  left 
me  a  long  way  in  the  rear,  dodging  and  crawling  labo- 
riously and  stopping  every  now  and  then  to  watch  the 
development  of  the  battle.  There  was  little  to  see  but  the 
flash  of  rifles;  and  they  explained  nothing  more  than 
that  the  Kurds  were  forcing  their  way  very  close  to  our 
center  and  left  wing. 

Not  all  the  fighting  had  been  done  that  day  under  or- 
ganized leadership.  I  stumbled  at  one  place  and  fell 
over  the  dead  bodies  of  a  Kurd  and  an  Armenian,  locked 
in  a  strangle-hold.  That  Kurd  must  have  been  bold 
enough  to  go  pillaging  miles  in  advance  of  his  friends, 
for  the  two  had  been  dead  for  hours.  But  the  mutual 
hatred  had  not  died  off  their  faces,  and  they  lay  side  by 
side  clutching  each  other's  throats  as  if  passion  had  con- 
tinued after  death. 

The  sight  of  Ephraim  and  his  party  hurrying  across 
their  front  toward  Kagig's  weak  left  wing  had  evidently 
convinced  the  Kurds  that  no  more  danger  need  be  ex- 
pected from  their  own  left.  There  can  have  been  no 
other  possible  reason  why  we  were  unobserved,  for  the 
recklessness   of  my  contingent  grew  as  they  advanced 


220  THE  EYE  OF  2EITOON 

closer  to  the  horses,  and  from  the  rear  I  saw  them  brain 
one  outpost  with  a  rock  and  rush  in  and  knife  another 
with  as  httle  regard  for  concealment  as  if  these  two  had 
been  the  only  Kurds  within  eagle's  view.  Yet  they  were 
unseen  by  the  enemy,  and  five  minutes  later  we  all  gath- 
ered in  the  shelter  of  a  semicircle  of  loose  rocks,  to  re- 
gain wind  for  the  final  effort. 

"Korkakma!"  I  panted,  using  about  ten  per  cent,  of  my 
Turkish  vocabulary,  and  they  laughed  so  loud  that  I 
cursed  them  for  a  bunch  of  fools.  But  the  man  nearest 
me  chose  to  illustrate  his  feeling  for  Turks  further  by 
taking  the  corner  of  his  jacket  between  thumb  and  fin- 
ger and  going  through  the  motions  of  squeezing  off  an 
insect — the  last,  most  expressive  gesture  of  contempt. 

The  horses  were  within  three  hundred  yards  of  us. 
On  rising  ground  between  us  and  the  Kurdish  firing-line 
was  a  little  group  of  Turkish  officers,  and  to  our  right 
beyond  the  horses  was  miscellaneous  baggage  under  the 
guard  of  Kurds,  of  whom  more  than  half  were  wounded. 
I  could  see  an  obviously  Greek  doctor  bandaging  a  man 
seated  on  an  empty  ammunition  box. 

But  our  chief  danger  was  from  the  mounted  scoundrels 
who  were  so  busy  murdering  women  and  children  and 
wounded  men  half  a  mile  away  to  the  rear.  They  had 
come  along  working  the  covert  like  hunters  of  vermin, 
driving  lances  into  every  possible  lurking  place  and  no 
doubt  skewering  their  own  wounded  on  occasion,  for 
which  Armenians  would  afterward  be  blamed.  We  could 
hear  them  chorusing  with  glee  whenever  a  lance  found 
a  victim,  or  when  a  dozen  of  them  gave  chase  to  some 
panic-stricken  woman  in  wild  flight.  Through  the  glasses 
I  could  see  two  Turkish  officers  with  them,  in  addition 
to  their  own  nondescript  "tin-plate  men" ;  and  if  officers 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  221 

or  men  should  get  sight  of  us  it  was  easy  to  imagine  what 
our  fate  would  be. 

That  thought,  and  knowledge  that  Gloria  Vanderman 
and  Will  and  Fred  were  engaged  in  an  almost  equally 
desperate  venture  within  a  mile  of  me  (evidenced  by 
dozens  of  wild  bullets  screaming  through  the  air)  sug- 
gested the  idea  of  taking  a  longer  chance  than  any  I  had 
thought  of  3'et.  A  moment's  consideration  brought  con- 
viction that  the  efifort  would  be  worth  the  risk.  Yet  I  had 
no  way  of  communicating  with  my  men ! 

I  pointed  to  the  Turkish  officers  clustered  together 
watching  the  effort  of  their  firing-line.  From  where  we 
lay  to  the  horses  would  be  three  hundred  yards;  from 
the  horses  to  those  officers  would  be  about  two  hundred 
and  fifty  yards  farther  at  an  angle  of  something  like  forty 
degrees.  Counting  their  orderlies  and  hangers-on  we 
outnumbered  that  party  by  two  to  one;  and  "the  fish 
starts  stinking  from  the  head"  as  the  proverb  says.  With 
the  head  gone,  the  whole  Kurdish  firing-line  would  begin 
to  be  useless. 

I  tried  my  stammering  Turkish,  but  the  men  were  in 
no  mood  to  be  patient  with  efforts  in  that  loathly  tongue. 
None  of  them  knew  a  word  in  English.  I  tried  French — 
Italian — smattering  Arabic — but  they  only  shook  their 
heads,  and  began  to  think  nervousness  was  driving  me 
out  of  hand.  One  of  them  laid  a  soothing  hand  on  my 
shoulder,  and  repeated  what  sounded  like  a  prayer. 

To  lose  the  confidence  of  one's  men  under  such  cir- 
cumstances at  that  stage  of  the  game  was  too  much.  I 
grew  really  rattled,  and  at  random,  as  a  desperate  man 
will,  I  stammered  off  what  I  wanted  to  say  in  the  for- 
eign tongue  that  I  knew  best,  regardless  of  the  fact  that 
Armenians  arc  not  black  men,  and  that  there  is  not  even 


222  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

a  trace  of  connection  between  their  language  and  any- 
thing cmTcnt  in  Africa.  Zanzibar  and  Armenia  are  as 
far  apart  as  Australia  and  Jai)an,  with  about  as  much 
culture  in  common. 

To  my  amazement  a  man  answered  in  fluent  Kiswahili ! 
He  had  traded  for  skins  in  some  barbarous  district  near 
the  shore  of  Victoria  Nyanza,  and  knew  half  a  dozen 
Bantu  languages.  In  a  minute  after  that  we  had  the 
plan  well  understood  and  truly  laid ;  and,  what  was  bet- 
ter, they  had  ceased  to  believe  me  a  victim  of  nerves — 
a  fact  that  gave  me  back  the  nerve  that  had  been  peril- 
ously close  to  vanishing. 

We  paid  no  more  attention  to  the  firing-line,  nor  to  the 
mounted  Kurds  who  were  drawing  the  coverts  nearer 
and  nearer  to  us.  It  was  understood  that  we  were  to 
sacrifice  ourselves  for  our  friends,  and  do  the  utmost 
damage  possible  before  being  overwhelmed.  We  shook 
hands  solemnly.  Two  or  three  men  embraced  each 
other.  The  five  who  by  common  consent  were  reckoned 
the  best  rifle  shots  lay  down  side  by  side  with  me  among 
the  rocks,  and  the  remainder  began  crawling  out  one  by 
one  on  their  stomachs  toward  the  horses,  with  instructions 
to  take  wide  open  order  as  quickly  as  possible,  with  the 
idea  of  making  the  Kurds  believe  our  numbers  were 
greater  than  they  really  were. 

When  I  judged  they  were  half-way  toward  the  horses 
we  six  opened  fire  on  the  Turkish  officers.  And  every 
single  one  of  us  missed !  At  the  sound  of  our  volley  the 
devoted  horse-thieves  rose  to  their  feet  and  rushed  on 
the  horse-guards,  forgetting  to  fire  on  them  from  sheer 
excitement,  and  as  a  matter  of  fact  one  of  them  was 
shot  dead  by  a  horse-guard  before  the  rest  remembered 
they  had  deadly  weapons  of  their  own. 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  223 

I  remedied  the  first  outrageous  error  to  a  slight  extent 
by  killing  the  Turkish  colonel's  orderly,  missing  the  com- 
mander himself  by  almost  a  yard.  'My  five  men  all  missed 
with  their  second  shots,  and  then  it  was  too  late  to  pull 
off  the  complete  coup  we  had  dared  to  hope  for.  The  en- 
tire staff  took  cover,  and  started  a  veritable  hail  of  fire 
with  their  repeating  pistols,  all  aimed  at  us,  and  aimed  as 
wildly  as  our  own  shots  had  been. 

Meanwhile  the  mounted  Kurds  at  the  rear  had  heard 
the  firing  and  were  coming  on  full  pelt,  yelling  like  red 
Indians.  I  could  see,  in  the  moment  I  snatched  for  a  hur- 
ried glance  in  that  direction,  that  the  purpose  of  cutting 
loose  and  stampeding  the  horses  was  being  accomplished ; 
but  even  that  comparatively  simple  task  required  time, 
and  as  the  Kurds  galloped  nearer,  the  horses  grew  as 
nervous  as  the  men  who  sought  to  loose  them. 

But  conjecture  and  all  caution  were  useless  to  us  six 
bent  on  attacking  the  colonel  and  his  staff.  We  crawled 
out  of  cover  and  advanced,  stopping  to  fire  one  or  two 
shots  and  then  scrambling  closer,  giving  away  our  own 
paucity  of  numbers,  but  increasing  the  chance  of  doing 
damage  with  each  yard  gained. 

And  our  recklessness  had  the  additional  advantage  of 
making  the  staff  reckless  too.  The  colonel  kept  in  close 
hiding,  but  the  rest  of  them  began  dodging  from  place 
to  place  in  an  effort  to  outflank  us  from  both  sides,  and 
I  saw  four  of  them  bowled  over  within  a  minute.  Then 
the  remainder  lay  low  again,  and  we  resumed  the  offen- 
sive. 

The  next  thing  I  remember  was  hearing  a  wild  yell  as 
our  party  seized  a  horse  apiece  and  galloped  off  in  front 
of  the  oncoming  Kurds — straight  toward  Kagig's  firing- 
line.    That,  and  the  yelling  of  the  horsemen  in  pursuit 


224  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOOl^ 

drew  the  attention  of  the  riflemen  attacking  Kagig  to  the 
fact  that  most  of  their  horses  were  running  loose  and 
that  there  was  imminent  danger  to  their  own  rear.  I 
only  had  time  to  get  a  glimpse  of  them  breaking  back, 
for  the  Turkish  colonel  got  my  range  and  sent  a  bullet 
ripping  down  the  length  of  the  back  of  my  shooting 
jacket.  That  commenced  a  duel — he  against  me — each 
missing  as  disgracefully  as  if  we  were  both  beginners  at 
the  game  of  life  or  death,  and  I  at  any  rate  too  absorbed 
to  be  aware  of  anything  but  my  own  plight  and  of  oceans 
of  unexplained  noise  to  right  and  left.  I  knew  there 
were  galloping  horses,  and  men  yelling;  but  knowledge 
that  the  Turkish  military  rifle  I  was  using  must  be 
wrongly  sighted,  and  that  my  enemy  had  no  such  dis- 
advantage, excluded  every  other  thought, 

I  had  used  about  half  the  cartridges  in  my  bandolier 
when  a  Kurd's  lance  struck  me  a  glancing  blow  on  the 
back  of  the  head.  His  horse  collapsed  on  top  of  me,  as 
some  thundering  warrior  I  did  not  see  gave  the  stu- 
pendous finishing  stroke  to  rider  and  beast  at  once. 

There  followed  a  period  of  semi-consciousness  filled 
with  enormous  clamor,  and  upheavings,  and  what  might 
have  been  earthquakes  for  lack  of  any  other  reasonable 
explanation,  for  I  felt  myself  being  dragged  and  shaken 
to  and  fro.  Then,  as  the  weight  of  the  fallen  horse  was 
rolled  aside  there  surged  a  tide  of  blissful  relief  that 
carried  me  over  the  border  of  oblivion. 

When  I  recovered  my  senses  I  was  astride  of  Rustum 
Khan's  mare,  with  a  leather  thong  around  my  shoulders 
and  the  Rajput's  to  keep  me  from  falling.  We  were  pro- 
ceeding at  an  easy  walk  in  front  of  a  squadron  of  rag- 
ged-looking irregulars  whom  I  did  not  recognize,  toward 
the  center  of  the  position  Kagig  had  held.    Kagig's  men 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  225 

were  no  longer  in  hiding,  but  standing  about  in  groups; 
and  presently  I  caught  sight  of  Fred  and  Will  and  Kagig 
standing  together,  but  not  Gloria  Vanderman.  A  cough 
immediately  behind  us  made  me  turn  my  head.  The 
Turkish  colonel,  who  had  fought  the  ridiculously  futile 
duel  with  me,  was  coming  along  at  the  mare's  tail  with 
his  hands  tied  behind  him  and  a  noose  about  his  neck 
made  fast  to  one  of  the  saddle-rings. 

"Much  obliged,  Rustum  Khan  1"  I  said  by  way  of  let- 
ting him  know  I  was  alive.     "How  did  you  get  here?" 

"Ha,  sahib !  Not  going  to  die,  then  ?  That  is  good !  I 
came  because  Colonel  Lord  IMontdidier  sahib  sent  me 
with  a  squadron  of  these  mountain  horsemen — fine  horse- 
men they  are — fit  by  the  breath  of  Allah  to  draw  steel  at 
a  Rajput's  back !" 

"He  sent  you  to  find  me  ?" 

"Ha,  sahib.  To  rescue  you  alive  if  that  were  possible." 

"How  did  he  know  where  I  was?" 

"An  Armenian  by  name  of  Ephraim  came  and  said 
you  had  gone  over  to  the  Turks.  Certain  men  he  had 
with  him  corroborated,  but  three  of  his  party  kept  si- 
lence. My  lord  sahib  answered  *I  have  hunted,  and 
camped,  and  fought  beside  that  man — played  and  starved 
and  feasted  with  him.  No  more  than  I  myself  would  he 
go  over  to  Turks.  He  must  have  seen  an  opportunity  to 
make  trouble  behind  the  Turks'  backs.  Take  your  scpiad- 
ron  and  go  find  him,  Rustum  Khan!'  And  I,  sahib, 
obeyed  my  lord  bahadur's  orders." 

"Where  is  Lord  Montdidier  now?" 

"Who  knows,  sahib.  Wherever  the  greatest  need  at 
the  moment  is." 

"Tell  me  what  has  happened." 

"You  did  well,  sahib.    The  loosing  of  the  horses  and 


226  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

the  shooting  behind  their  backs  put  fear  into  the  Kurds. 
They  ceased  pressing  on  our  left  wing.  And  I — watching 
from  behind  cover  on  the  right  wing — snatched  that 
moment  to  outflank  them,  so  that  they  ran  pell-mell. 
Then  I  saw  the  mounted  Kurds  charging  up  from  the 
rear,  and  guessed  at  once  where  you  were,  sahib.  The 
Kurds  were  extended,  and  my  men  in  close  order,  so  I 
charged  and  had  all  the  best  of  it,  arriving  by  God's  favor 
in  the  nick  of  time  for  you,  sahib.  Then  I  took  this 
colonel  prisoner.  Only  once  in  my  life  have  I  seen  a 
greater  pile  than  his  of  empty  cartridge  cases  beside  one 
man.  That  was  the  pile  beside  you,  sahib!  How  many 
men  did  you  kill,  and  he  kill?    And  who  buried  them?" 

"Where  is  Miss  Vanderman?"  I  asked,  turning  the 
subject. 

"God  knows!  What  do  I  know  of  women?  Only  I 
know  this :  that  there  is  a  gipsy  woman  bred  by  Satan 
out  of  sin  itself,  who  will  make  things  hot  for  any  second 
filly  in  this  string !  W^oe  and  a  woman  are  one !" 

Not  caring  to  listen  to  the  Indian's  opinions  of  the 
other  sex  any  more  than  he  would  have  welcomed  mine 
about  the  ladies  of  his  own  land,  I  made  out  my  injuries 
were  worse  than  was  the  case,  and  groaned  a  little,  and 
grew  silent. 

So  we  rode  without  further  conversation  up  to  where 
Fred  and  Will  were  standing  with  Kagig,  and  as  I  tum- 
bled ofif  into  Fred's  arms  I  Avas  greeted  with  a  chorus  of 
welcome  that  included  Gloria's  voice. 

"That's  what  I  call  using  your  bean !"  she  laughed,  in 
the  slangy  way  she  had  whenever  Will  had  the  chance 
to  corrupt  her  Boston  manners. 

"It  feels  baked,"  I  said.  "I  used  it  to  stop  a  Kurd's 
lance  with.   Hullo!  What's  the  matter  with  you?" 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  227 

"I  stopped  a  bullet  with  my  forearm !" 

She  was  sitting  in  a  sort  of  improvised  chair  between 
two  dwarfed  tree-trunks,  and  if  ever  I  saw  a  proud 
young  woman  that  was  she.  She  wore  the  bloody  band- 
age like  a  prize  diploma. 

"And  I've  seen  your  friend  !Monty,  and  he's  better 
than  the  accounts  of  him!" 

I  glanced  at  Will,  alert  for  a  sign  of  jealousy. 

"Monty  is  the  one  best  bet!"  he  said.  And  his  eyes 
were  generous  and  level,  as  a  man's  who  tells  the  whole 
truth. 


"LO,  THIS  IS  THE  MAN—" 

(Psalm  52) 

Choose,  yc  forefathers  of  to-morrow,  choose! 
These  easy  zvays  there  he 
Uncluttered  by  the  ivrongs  each  other  bears. 
And  zvarmly  ye  shall  walk  zvho  can  not  see 
How  thin  some  other  fellow's  garment  zvears. 
Nor  need  to  notice  zvhose. 

Choose,  ye  stock-owners  in  to-morrozv,  choose!. 

The  road  these  others  tread 

Is  littered  deep  zvith  jetsam  and  the  hones 

Of  their  dishonored  dead. 

What  altruism  for  defeat  atones? 

Have  ye  not  much  to  lose? 

Choose,  ye  inheritors  of  ages,  choose! 
What  ozve  ye  to  the  past? 
The  burly  men  zvho  Magna  Charta  zvrung 
From  tyranny  entrenched  zvoidd  stand  agliast 
To  see  the  ripples  from  that  stone  they  flung. 
They,  too,  had  selfish  viczvs. 

Choose,  ye  investors  in  the  future,  choose! 
Ye  need  pick  cautious  odds; 
To-morrozv's  fruit  is  seeded  dozvn  to-day. 
And  unwise  purpose  like  the  unknown  gods 
Tempts  on  a  wasteful  way. 
'Ware  well  what  guide  ye  use!. 


CHAPTER  FOURTEEN 
"Rajput,  I  shall  hang  you  if  you  make  more  trouble!" 

WE  went  and  bivouacked  by  the  brawling  Jihun 
under  a  roof  of  thatch,  whose  walls  were  repre- 
sented by  more  or  less  upright  wooden  posts  and  debris ; 
for  Kagig  would  not  permit  anything  to  stand  even  for 
an  hour  that  Turks  could  come  and  fortify.  None  of  us 
believed  that  the  repulse  of  that  handful  of  Kurdish 
plunderers  and  the  capture  of  a  Turkish  colonel  would 
be  the  end  of  hostilities — rather  the  beginning. 

Kagig,  when  Gloria  asked  him  what  he  proposed  to 
do  with  Rustum  Khan's  prisoner,  smiled  cynically  and 
ordered  him  searched  by  two  of  the  Zeitoonli  standing 
guard.  Rustum  Khan  was  standing  just  out  of  low  ear- 
shot absorbed  in  contemplation  of  the  lie  of  the  country. 
I  noticed  that  Fred  began  to  look  nervous,  but  he  did  not 
say  anything.  Will  Avas  too  busy  fussing  with  Gloria's 
wound,  making  a  new  bandage  for  it  and  going  through 
the  quite  unnecessary  motions  of  keeping  up  her  spirits, 
to  observe  any  other  phenomena.  An  Armenian  woman 
named  Anna,  who  had  attached  herself  to  Gloria  because, 
she  said,  her  husband  and  children  had  been  killed  and 
she  might  as  well  serve  as  weep,  sat  watching  the  two  of 
them  with  quiet  amusement. 

The  Turk  ofTercfl  no  further  objection  than  a  shrug 
of  his  fatalist  shoulders  and  a  muttered  remark  about 
]'>mcnic  and  bandits.  Even  when  the  mountaineers 
laughed  at  the  chink  of  stolen  money  in  all  his  pockets 
he  did  not  exhibit  a  trace  of  shame.    They  shook  him, 

229 


230  JHE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

and  pawed  him,  and  poured  out  gold  in  little  heaps  on 
the  ground  (out  of  the  magnanimity  of  his  official  heart 
he  had  doubtless  left  all  silver  coin  for  his  hamidieh  to 
pouch)  ;  but  Kagig  only  had  eyes  for  the  papers  they 
pulled  out  of  his  inner  pocket  and  tossed  away.  He 
pounced  on  them. 

"Hah!"  he  laughed.  "There!  Did  I  tell  you?  These 
are  his  orders — signed  by  a  governor's  secretary — coun- 
tersigned by  the  governor  himself — to  'set  forth  with  his 
troops  and  rescue  Armenians  in  the  Zeitoon  district.' 
Rescue  them!  Have  you  seen?  Did  you  observe  his 
noble  rescue  work  ?  Here — see  the  orders  for  yourselves ! 
Observe  how  the  Stamboulis  propose  to  prove  their  in- 
nocence after  the  event !" 

Since  they  were  written  in  Turkish  they  were  of  no 
conceivable  use  to  any  one  but  Fred  and  Rustum  Khan. 
Fred  glanced  over  them,  and  shouted  to  Rustum  Khan 
to  come  and  look.  That  was  a  mistake,  for  it  called  the 
Rajput's  attention  to  what  had  been  happening  to  his 
prisoner.  He  came  striding  toward  us  with  his  black 
beard  bristling  and  eyes  blazing  with  anger. 

"Who  searched  him?"  he  demanded. 

"He  was  searched  by  my  order,"  Kagig  answered  in 
the  calm  level  voice  that  in  a  man  of  such  spirit  was 
prophetic  of  explosion. 

"Who  gave  thee  leave  to  order  him  searched,  Arme- 
nian ?" 

"I  left  you  his  money,"  Kagig  answered  with  biting 
scorn,  pointing  to  the  little  heaps  of  gold  coin  on  the 
ground. 

I  had  no  means  of  knowing  what  peaks  of  friction 
had  already  been  attained  between  the  two,  and  it  was 
not  likely  that  I  should  instantly  choose  sides  against  the 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  231 

man  who  within  the  hour  had  saved  my  life  at  peril  of  his 
own.  But  Will  saw  matters  in  another  light,  and  Fred 
began  humming  through  his  nose.  Will  left  Gloria  and 
walked  straight  up  to  Rustum  Khan.  He  had  managed 
to  shave  himself  with  cold  Jihun  water  and  some  laundry 
soap,  and  his  clean  jaw  suggested  standards  set  up  and 
sworn  to  since  ever  they  gave  the  name  of  Yankee  to 
men  possessed  by  certain  high  ideals. 

"Kagig  needs  no  leave  from  any  one  to  order  prisoners 
searched !"  he  said,  shaping  each  word  distinctly, 

Rustum  Khan  spluttered,  and  kicked  at  a  heap  of  coin. 

"Perhaps  you  have  bargained  for  your  share  of  all 
loot?    I  have  heard  that  in  America  men — " 

"Rajput!"  said  Kagig,  looking  down  on  him  from 
slightly  higher  ground,  "I  will  hang  you  if  you  make 
more  trouble!" 

At  that  I  interfered.  I  was  not  the  only  one  in  Rustum 
Khan's  debt ;  it  was  likely  his  brilliant  effort  at  the  critical 
moment  had  saved  our  whole  fighting  line.  Besides,  I 
.saw  the  Turk  grinning  to  himself  with  satisfaction  at 
the  rift  in  our  good  will. 

"Suppose  we  refer  this  dispute  to  Monty,"  I  proposed, 
reasoning  that  if  it  should  ever  get  as  far  as  Monty,  tem- 
pers would  have  died  away  meanwhile.  Not  that  Monty 
could  not  have  handled  the  proljlem,  tempers  and  all. 

"I  refer  no  points  of  honor,"  growled  the  Rajput.  "I 
have  been  insulted." 

"Rot !"  exclaimed  Fred,  getting  to  his  feet.  When  his 
usually  neat  beard  has  not  been  trimmed  for  a  day  or  two 
he  looks  more  truculent  than  he  really  is.  "I've  been 
listening.    The  insolence  was  on  the  other  side." 

"Do  you  deny  Kagig's  right  to  question  prisoners?"  I 
asked,  thinking  I  saw  a  way  out  of  the  mess. 


232  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

"Can  I  not  question  him?"  Rustum  Khan  turned  on 
me  with  a  gesture  that  made  it  clear  he  held  me  to  no 
friendship  on  account  of  service  rendered. 

He  strode  toward  his  prisoner,  with  heaven  knows 
what  notion  in  his  head,  but  Fred  interposed  himself. 
The  likeliest  thing  at  that  moment  was  a  blow  by  one  or 
the  other  that  would  have  banished  any  chance  of  a  re- 
turning reign  of  reason.  Rustum  Khan  turned  his  back 
to  the  Turk  and  thrust  out  his  chest  toward  Fred  as  if 
daring  him  to  strike.  Even  the  kites  seemed  to  expect 
bloodshed  and  circled  nearer. 

It  was  Gloria  who  cut  the  Gordian  knot.  It  was  her 
unwounded  hand,  not  Fred's,  that  touched  the  Rangar's 
breast. 

"Rustum  Khan,"  she  said,  "I  think  better  of  you  than 
to  believe  you  would  take  advantage  of  our  ignorance. 
You're  a  soldier.  We  are  only  civilians  trying  to  help  a 
tortured  nation.  We  know  nothing  of  Rajput  customs. 
Won't  you  go  to  Lord  Montdidier  and  tell  him  about  it, 
and  ask  him  to  decide?  We'll  all  obey  Monty,  you 
know." 

Rustum  Khan  looked  down  at  her  bandaged  wrist,  and 
then  into  violet  eyes  that  were  not  in  the  least  degree 
afraid  of  him  but  only  looking  diligently  for  the  honor 
he  so  boasted. 

"Who  can  refuse  a  beautiful  young  woman?"  he  said, 
beginning  to  melt.  But  he  refused  to  meet  her  eyes  again, 
or  even  to  acknowledge  our  existence. 

"I  give  you  the  prisoner !"  He  made  her  a  motion  of 
arrogant  extravagance  with  his  right  hand  as  if  perform- 
ing the  act  of  transfer.  Then  he  turned  on  his  heel  with 
a  little  simultaneous  mock  salute,  and  striding  to  his  bay 
mare,  mounted  and  rode  away. 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  233 

Kagig  took  over  the  prisoner  at  once  without  comment 
and  began  to  question  him  under  a  tree  twenty  yards 
away,  paying  no  attention  to  the  riflemen  who  matched 
one  another,  laughing,  for  the  plundered  money.  We 
four  went  back  to  the  shelter  of  the  thatch  roof,  for  the 
plan  was  to  remain  behind  with  the  company  of  Zeitoonli 
whom  Kagig  had  placed  carefully  at  vantage  points,  and 
give  stragglers  a  chance  to  save  themselves  before  we 
resumed  the  journey  to  Zeitoon. 

Naturally  enough,  Rustum  Khan  and  his  fiery  unrea- 
son was  the  subject  we  discussed,  and  Fred  laid  law 
down  as  to  how  he  should  be  dealt  with  whenever  the 
chance  should  come  to  bring  him  to  book.  But  Rustum 
Khan  was  a  bagatelle  compared  to  what  was  coming,  if 
we  had  only  known  it.  While  we  talked  I  saw  Gregor 
Jhaere,  the  attaman  of  gipsies,  ride  down  the  track  on  a 
brown  mule  and  dismount  within  ten  yards  of  Kagig.  He 
hobbled  his  mule,  and  went  and  sat  close  by  Kagig  and  the 
Turk,  engaging  in  a  three-cornered  talk  with  them.  Kagig 
seemed  to  have  expected  him,  for  there  was  no  sign  of 
greeting  or  surprise. 

There  was  nothing  disturbing  about  Gregorys  arrival 
on  the  scene ;  he  was  evidently  helj^ng  Kagig  to  cross- 
examine  the  Turk  and  check  up  facts.  Within  their  lim- 
its gipsies  are  about  the  best  spies  obtainable  because  of 
their  ability  to  take  advantage  of  credulity  and  their  own 
immeasurable  unbelief  in  protest  or  apj^earanccs.  It  was 
the  individual  who  followed  Gregor  at  a  distance,  and 
dismounted  from  a  gray  stallion  (luitc  a  long  way  off  in 
order  not  to  flraw  attention  to  herself,  who  made  my 
blood  turn  cold.  I  caught  sight  of  Maga  Jhaere  first  be- 
cause the  others  had  their  backs  toward  her.  Then  the 
expression  of  my  face  brought  TVcd  to  liis  feet.   By  that 


234  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

time  Maga  had  vanished  out  of  view,  unaware  that  any 
one  had  seen  her,  creeping  hke  a  pantheress  from  rock 
to  rock. 

"What's  the  matter?"  Fred  demanded,  sitting  down 
again,  ill-tempered  with  himself  for  being  startled. 

"Maga  Jhaere !" 

"How  exciting!"  said  Gloria.  "I'm  crazy  to  meet  her." 

But  Will  looked  less  excited  and  more  anxious  than 
I  had  ever  seen  him,  and  we  all  three  laughed. 

"All  right!"  he  said.  "I  tell  you  it's  no  joke.  That 
woman  believes  she's  got  her  hooks  in." 

W^e  tried  to  go  on  talking  naturally,  but  lapsed  into 
uncomfortable  silence  as  the  minutes  dragged  by  and  no 
Maga  put  in  her  appearance.  Fred  began  humming 
through  his  nose  again  in  that  ridiculous  way  that  he 
thinks  seems  unconcerned,  but  that  makes  his  best  friends 
yearn  to  smite  him  hip  and  thigh. 

"I  guess  you  were  mistaken,"  Will  said  at  last,  spread- 
ing out  his  shoulders  with  relief  at  the  mere  suggestion. 
But  I  was  facing  the  direction  of  Zeitoon,  as  he  was  not, 
and  again  the  expression  of  my  face  betrayed  the  facts. 

There  were  two  large  stones  leaning  together,  with  a 
small  triangular  gap  between  them,  less  than  thirty  feet 
from  where  we  sat.  In  that  gap  I  could  see  a  pair  of 
eyes,  and  nothing  else.  They  had  almost  exactly  the  ex- 
pression of  a  panther's  that  is  stalking,  not  its  quarry, 
but  its  mortal  foe.  In  spite  of  having  seen  Maga  ap- 
proaching, I  would  have  believed  them  an  animal's  eyes, 
only  that  from  experience  I  knew  an  animal's  eyes  betray 
fear  and  anger  without  reason,  whereas  these  blazed 
with  the  desperate  reasoning  that  holds  fear  in  contempt. 
Panthers  can  hate,  be  afraid,  sweep  fear  aside  with 
anger,  and  plan  painstakingly  for  murderous  attack;  but 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  235 

It  is  only  behind  human  eyes  that  one  may  recognize  the 
murder-purpose  based  on  argument. 

"I  see  her,"  I  said.  "I  suspect  she's  got  a  pistol,  and — " 

I  had  not  known  until  that  moment  that  the  short  hair 
was  standing  up  the  back  of  my  head,  but  I  felt  it  go 
down  with  a  creepy  cold  chill  as  I  spoke.  Then  once 
more  it  rose.  Knowing  she  was  seen  and  recognized, 
Maga  got  to  her  feet  and  stood  on  the  larger  of  the  two 
stones,  looking  down  on  us.  Her  hands  were  on  her 
hips,  and  I  could  see  no  weapon,  but  her  lips  moved  in 
voiceless  imprecation. 

"Are  you  Maga  Jhaere?"  asked  Gloria,  first  of  us  all 
to  recover  some  measure  of  self-command. 

Maga  nodded.  She  was  barefooted,  clothed  only  in 
bodice  and  leather  jacket  and  a  rather  short  ochre-colored 
skirt  that  blew  in  the  gaining  w^ind  and  showed  the  out- 
line of  her  lithe  young  figure.  Her  long  black  hair  bil- 
lowed and  galloped  in  the  wind  behind  her. 

*T  am  Maga  Jhaere,"  she  said  slowly,  addressing 
Gloria.  "Who  are  you  ?" 

"My  name  is  Gloria  Vanderman." 

"And  that  man  beside  you — who  is  he?" 

Gloria  did  not  answer.  Will  looked  more  embarrassed 
than  the  devil  caught  in  daylight,  and  Fred  recovered  his 
mental  equilibrium  sufficiently  to  chuckle. 

"Is  he  your  'usband?" 

"No." 

"Then  what  you  want  with  'im  ?" 

No  one  said  a  word.  Only,  Fred  made  a  movement 
with  his  hand  behind  him  that  Maga  noticed  and  spurned 
with  a  toss  of  her  chin. 

"You  coming  to  Zeitoon  ?" 

Gloria  nodded.    Glancing  over   toward   Kagig   I   saw 


236  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

that  he  was  aware  of  Maga  and  was  watching  her  out  of 
the  corner  of  his  eye  while  he  talked  with  Gregor  and 
the  Turk.  They  were  both  getting  angry  with  the  Turk 
and  using  gestures  suggestive  of  impending  agony  by 
way  of  emphasis.  The  Turk  was  growing  fidgety. 

IMaga  spread  her  arms  out  as  if  she  were  embracing 
all  the  universe  and  called  it  hers. 

"Then — if  you  ar-re  coming  to  Zeitoon — ^you  choose 
first  a  'usband.  There  are — many  'usbands.  Some  'ave 
lost  a  wife — some  'ave  sick  wife — some  not  yet  never  'ad 
no  wife.  Plenty  Armenians — also  two  other  men  there — 
but  you  let  that  one — Will — alone!  Choose  a  'usband 
— marry  'im — then  you  come  to  Zeitoon !  If  you  come 
without  a  'usband — I  will  keel  you — do  you  understand  ?" 

"Now  then,  America  1"  grinned  Fred  in  a  stage  aside 
that  Maga  could  hear  as  clearly  as  if  it  had  been  in- 
tended for  her.   "Let's  see  the  eagle  scream  for  liberty !" 

"Eagle  scream?"  said  Maga,  almost  screaming  her- 
self. "What  you  know  about  eagles?  You  ol'  fool! 
That  man  Will  is  thinking  you  ar-re  'is  f  rien'.  You  ar-re 
not  'is  f rien' !  Let  'im  come  with  me,  an'  I  will  show  'im 
what  ar-re  eagles — what  is  freedom — what  is  knowledge 
— what  is  life!  I  know.  You  oi'  fool,  you  not  know! 
You  ol'  fool,  you  marry  that  woman — then  you  can 
bring  'er  to  Zeitoon  an'  she  is  safe !   Otherwise — " 

She  reached  in  the  bosom  of  her  blouse  and  drew  out, 
not  the  mother-o'-pearl-plated  pistol  that  I  feared,  but  a 
knife  with  an  eighteen-inch  blade  of  glittering  steel.  In- 
stantly Fred  covered  her  with  his  own  repeater,  but  she 
laughed  in  his  face. 

"You  ol'  fool,  you  ar-re  afraid  to  shoot  me !" 

If  she  meant  that  Fred  would  feel  squeamish  about 
shooting  before  she  hurled  the  knife,  then  she  was  cer- 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  237 

tainly  right.  But  she  knew  better  than  to  make  one  pre- 
liminary motion.  And  Kagig  knew  better  than  to  permit 
further  pleasantries.  I  saw  him  whisper  to  Gregor,  and 
the  gipsy  attanian  started  on  hands  and  knees  to  creep 
round  behind  her.  But  Maga's  eyes  were  practised  like 
those  of  all  other  wild  creatures  in  detecting  movement 
behind  her  as  well  as  in  front.  She  spat,  and  gave  vent 
to  a  final  ultimatum. 

"You  'ave  'card.  I  said — you  let  that  man  Will 
Yerr-kees  alone !  An'  don't  you  dare  come  to  Zeitooa 
without  a  'usband !" 

Then  she  turned  and  dodged  Gregor,  and  ran  for  her 
gray  stallion — mounted  the  savage  brute  with  a  leap  from 
six  feet  away,  and  rode  like  the  wind  toward  the  gut 
of  the  pass  that  shut  off  Zeitoon  from  our  view.  A  min- 
ute later  a  shell  from  a  small-bore  cannon  screamed 
overhead,  and  burst  a  hundred  yards  beyond  us  on  a 
sheet  of  rock. 

"Not  bad  for  a  ranging  shot!"  said  Fred,  suddenly  as 
self-possessed  as  if  the  world  never  held  such  a  thing  as 
an  untamed  woman. 

"Observe,  you  sportmen  all !"  Kagig  exclaimed,  get- 
ting to  his  feet.  "The  Turkish  nobihty  are  proceeding  to 
rescue  poor  Armenians.  Behold,  their  charity  comes 
even  from  the  cannon's  mouth !  It  is  time  to  go  now, 
lest  it  overtake  us!  No  cannon  can  come  in  sight  of 
Zeitoon.   Follow  me." 

With  his  usual  sudden  oblivion  of  everything  but  the 
main  objective  Kagig  mounted  and  rode  away,  followed 
by  Gregor  in  charge  of  the  prisoner,  and  by  a  squadron 
or  so  of  mounted  Zciloonli  who  attempted  no  formation 
but  came  cantering  as  each  detachment  realized  that  their 
leader  was  on  the  move.   We  found  ourselves  last,  with- 


238  THE  EYE  OF  ZETTOON 

out  an  armed  man  between  us  and  the  enemy,  although 
without  a  doubt  there  were  still  dozens  of  fugitive  poor 
Avretches  who  had  not  had  the  courage  or  perhaps  the 
strength  to  overtake  us  yet. 

Kagig  had  had  the  forethought  to  leave  comparatively 
fresh  mules  for  us  to  ride,  and  there  was  not  any  particu- 
lar reason  for  hurry.  Will  went  ahead,  with  Gloria  and 
Anna  beside  him  on  one  mule — Gloria  laughing  him  out 
of  countenance  because  of  his  nervousness  on  her  ac- 
count, but  he  insistent  on  the  danger  in  case  of  repeated 
gun-fire.  Fred  rode  slowly  beside  me  in  the  rear,  for  we 
still  hoped  to  encourage  a  few  stray  fugitives  to  come  out 
of  their  hiding  holes  and  follow  us  to  safety. 

A  second  cannon  shot,  not  nearly  so  well  aimed  as  the 
first  had  been,  went  screaming  over  toward  our  left  and 
landed  without  bursting  among  low  bushes.  A  third  and 
a  fourth  followed  it,  and  the  last  one  did  explode.  That 
was  plainly  too  much  for  some  one  who  had  dodged  into 
hiding  when  the  second  shot  fell ;  we  saw  him  come  rush- 
ing out  from  cover  like  a  lunatic,  unconscious  of  direc- 
tion and  only  intent  on  shielding  the  top  of  his  head  with 
his  hands. 

"Is  the  poor  devil  hurt?"  I  said,  wondering.  But  Fred 
broke  into  a  roar  of  laughter;  and  he  is  not  a  heartless 
man — merely  gifted  more  than  usual  with  the  hunter's 
eye  that  recognizes  sex  and  species  of  birds  and  animals 
at  long  range.  I  can  see  farther  than  Fred  can,  but  at 
recognizing  details  swiftly  I  am  a  blind  bat  compared 
to  him. 

"The  martyred  biped !"  he  laughed.  "Peter  Measel  by 
the  God  of  happenings!" 

We  rode  over  toward  him,  and  Peter  it  was,  running 
with  his  eyes  shut.    He  screamed  when  we  stopped  him, 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  239 

and  sobbed  instead  of  talking  when  we  pulled  him  in  be- 
tween our  mules  and  offered  him  two  stirrup  leathers  to 
hold.  He  seemed  to  think  that  standing  between  the 
mules  would  protect  him  from  the  artillery  fire,  and  as 
we  were  not  in  any  hurry  we  took  advantage  of  that  de- 
lusion to  let  him  recover  a  modicum  of  nerve. 

And  the  moment  that  began  to  happen  he  was  the  same 
sweet  Peter  IMeasel  with  the  same  assurance  of  every 
other  body's  wickedness  and  his  own  divinity,  only  with 
something  new  in  his  young  life  to  add  poignancy. 

"What  were  you  doing  there  ?"  demanded  Fred,  as  we 
got  him  to  towing  along  between  us  at  last. 

"I  was  looking  for  her." 

"For  whom  ?" 

"For  ]\Iaga  Jhaere." 

Fred  allowed  his  ribs  to  shake  in  silent  laughter  that 
annoyed  the  mule,  and  we  had  to  catch  Measel  all  over 
again  because  the  beast's  crude  objections  filled  the  mar- 
tyred biped  full  of  the  desire  to  run. 

"Somebody  must  save  that  girl !"  he  panted.  "And  who 
else  can  do  it?  Who  else  is  there?" 

"There's  only  you !"  Fred  agreed,  choking  down  his 
mirth. 

"I'm  glad  you  agree  with  me.  At  least  you  have  that 
much  blessedness,  Mr.  Fred.  D'you  know  that  girl  was 
willing  to  be  a  murderess?  Yes!  She  tried  to  murder 
Rustum  Klian.  Kustum  Khan  ought  to  be  hanged,  for  he 
is  a  villain — a  black  villain !  But  she  must  not  have  blood 
on  her  hands — no,  no !" 

"Why  didn't  she  murder  him?"  demanded  Fred. 
"Qualms  at  the  last  moment?" 

"No.  I'm  sorry  to  say  no.  She  has  no  God-likcncss 
yet.    But  that  will  come.    She  will  repent.    I  shall  sec  to 


240  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

that.  It  was  I  who  prevented  her,  and  she  all  hut  mur- 
dered me !  She  would  have  murdered  me,  but  Kagig 
held  her  wrist ;  and  to  punish  her  he  gave  an  order  that 
I  should  preach  to  her  morning,  afternoon,  and  evening 
— three  times  a  day.  So  I  had  my  opportunity.  There 
was  a  guard  of  gipsy  women  set  to  see  that  she  obeyed." 

"Continue,"  said  Fred,   "What  happened?" 

"She  broke  away,  and  came  down  to  see  the  fighting." 

"Why  did  you  follow  her?  Weren't  you  afraid?" 

"Oh,  Mr.  Fred,  if  you  only  knew!  Yet  I  felt  impelled 
to  find  her.   I  could  not  trust  her  out  of  sight." 

"Why  not?  She  seems  fairly  well  able  to  look  after 
herself." 

"Oh,  I  can  not  allow  wickedness.  I  must  make  it  to 
cease!  It  entered  my  head  that  she  intended  to  find 
Kagig." 

"Well?  Why  not?" 

"Oh,  Mr.  Fred — ^tell  me!  You  may  know — ^j'ou  per- 
haps as  well  as  any  one,  for  you  are  such  an  ungodly 
man!  What  are  her  relations  with  Kagig?  Does  he — is 
he — is  there  wickedness  between  them?" 

"Dashed  if  I  know.  She's  a  gipsy.  He's  a  fine  half- 
savage.   Why  should  it  concern  you?" 

"Oh,  I  could  not  endure  it!  It  would  break  my  heart 
to  believe  it  1" 

"Then  why  think  about  it  ?" 

"How  can  I  help  it  ?  I  love  her !  Oh,  I  love  her,  Mr. 
Fred  I  I  never  loved  a  woman  in  all  my  life  before.  It 
would  break  my  heart  if  she  were  to  be  betrayed  into 
open  sin  by  Kagig!  Oh,  what  shall  I  do?  What  shall  I 
do?  I  love  her!   What  shall  I  do?" 

"Do?"  said  Fred,  looking  forward  in  imagination  to 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  241 

new  worlds  of  humor,  "why — make  love,  if  you  love  her ! 
Make  hot  love  and  strong !" 

"Will  you  help  me,  Mr.  Fred?"  the  biped  stammered. 
"You  see,  she's  rather  wild — a  little  unconventional — and 
I've  never  made  love  even  to  a  sempstress.  Will  you 
help  me?" 

"Certainly !"  Fred  chuckled.  "Certainly.  I'll  guarantee 
to  marry  her  to  you  if  you'll  dig  up  the  courage.  Have 
you  a  ring?" 

Peter  ^Measel  produced  a  near-gold  ring  with  a  smirk 
almost  of  recklessness,  a  plain  gold  ring  whose  worn  ap- 
pearance called  to  mind  the  finger  taken  from  a  dead 
Kurd's  cartridge  pouch.  It  may  be  that  Measel  bought 
it,  but  neither  Fred  nor  I  spoke  to  him  again  for  half  an 
hour. 


THE  REBEL'S  HYMN 

The  seeds  that  srocll  tinthln  cmc'rapping  motild, 
Gray  buds  that  color  faintly  in  the  northing  sun. 
Deep  roots  that  lengthen  after  zvinter's  rest. 
The  flutter  of  year's  youth  in  April's  breast 
As  young  leaves  in  the  warming  hour  unfold — ? 
These  and  my  heart  are  one! 

Go  dam  the  river-conrse  ivlth  carted  earth; 

Or  bind  zvith  iron  bands  that  riven  stone. 

That  century  07i  century  has  slept 

Until  into  its  heart  a  tendril  crept. 

And  in  the  quiet  majesty  of  birth 

Nezv  nature  broke  into  her  oivn! 

Or  bid  the  sun  stand  still!   Or  fashion  wings 

To  herd  the  heaven's  stars  arid  make  them  be 

Subservient  to  will  and  rule  and  zvhini! 

Or  rein  the  winds,  and  still  the  ocean's  hymn! 

More  surely  ye  shall  manage  all  these  things 

Than  chain  the  Life  in  me! 

Great  mountains  shedding  the  reluctant  snow. 
Vision  of  the  finish  of  the  thing  begun, 
Spirit  of  the  beauty  of  the  torrent's  song. 
Unconquerable  peal  of  carillon. 
And  secrets  that  in  conquest  overflow — 
These  and  my  heart  are  one! 


CHAPTER  FIFTEEN 
"Scenery  to  burst  the  heart!" 

YET  another  night  we  were  destined  to  spend  on  the 
Zeitoon  road,  for  we  had  not  the  heart  to  leave  be- 
hind us  the  stragglers  who  balked  fainting  in  the  gut  of 
the  pass.  Some  were  long  past  the  stage  where  anything 
less  than  threats  could  make  impression  on  them,  and 
only  able  to  go  forward  in  a  dull  dream  at  the  best.  But 
there  were  numbers  of  both  men  and  women  unexpect- 
edly capable  of  extremes  of  heroism,  who  took  the  bur- 
den of  misery  upon  themselves  and  exhibited  high  spirits 
based  on  no  evident  excuse.  Nothing  could  overwhelm 
those,  nothing  discourage  them. 

"To  Zeitoon!"  somebody  shouted,  as  if  that  were  the 
very  war-cry  of  the  saints  of  God.  Then  in  a  splendid 
bass  voice  he  began  to  sing  a  hymn,  and  some  women 
joined  him.  So  Fred  Oakes  fell  to  his  old  accustomed 
task,  and  played  them  marching  accompaniments  on  his 
concertina  until  his  fingers  ached  and  even  he,  the  en- 
thusiast, loathed  the  thing's  bray.  In  one  way  and  an- 
other a  little  of  the  pall  of  misery  was  lifted. 

Kagig  sent  us  down  bread  and  yogJiourt  at  nightfall, 
so  that  those  who  had  lived  thus  far  did  not  die  of  hun- 
ger. Women  brought  the  food  on  their  heads  in  earthen 
crocks — splendid,  good-looking  women  with  fearless 
eyes,  who  bore  the  heavy  loads  as  easily  as  their  moun- 
tain men- folk  carried  rifles.  'iMicy  did  not  stay  to  gossip, 
for  we  ha<l  no  news  but  the  stale  old  story  of  murder  and 
I^lunder;  and  their  news  was  short  and  to  the  point. 

243 


244  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

"Come  along  to  Zeitoon !"  was  the  burden  of  it,  car- 
ried with  a  singsong  laugh.  "Zeitoon  is  ready  for  any- 
thing !" 

Before  we  had  finished  eating,  each  two  of  them  gath- 
ered up  a  poor  wretch  from  our  heli)1ess  crowd  and  strode 
away  into  the  mountains  with  a  heavier  load  than  that 
they  brought. 

"Come  along  to  Zeitoon !"  they  called  back  to  us.  But 
even  Fred's  concertina,  and  the  hymns  of  the  handful 
who  were  not  yet  utterly  spent,  failed  to  get  them  mov- 
ing before  dawn. 

Wq  did  not  spend  the  night  unguarded,  although  no 
armed  men  lay  between  us  and  the  enemy.  We  could 
hear  the  Kurds  shouting  now  and  then,  and  once,  when 
I  climbed  a  high  rock,  I  caught  sight  of  the  glow  of  their 
bivouac  fires.  Imagination  conjured  up  the  shrieks  of 
tortured  victims,  for  we  had  all  seen  enough  of  late  to 
know  what  w^ould  happen  to  any  luckless  straggler  they 
might  have  caught  and  brought  to  make  sport  by  the 
fires.  But  there  was  no  imagination  about  the  calls  of 
Kagig's  men,  posted  above  us  on  invisible  dark  crags  and 
ledges  to  guard  against  surprise.  We  slept  in  comforta- 
ble consciousness  that  a  sleepless  watch  was  being  kept 
— until  fleas  came  out  of  the  ground  by  battalions,  divi- 
sions and  army  corps,  making  rest  impossible. 

But  even  the  flea  season  was  a  matter  of  indifference 
to  the  hapless  folk  who  lay  around  us,  and  although  wc 
fussed  and  railed  we  could  not  persuade  them  to  go  for- 
ward before  dawn  broke.  Then,  though,  they  strug- 
gled to  their  feet  and  started  without  argument.  But 
an  hour  after  the  start  we  reached  the  secret  of  the 
safety  of  Zeitoon,  without  which  not  even  the  valor  of  its 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  245 

defenders  could  have  withstood  the  overwhelming  num- 
bers of  the  Turks  for  all  those  scores  of  years ;  and  there 
was  nev\-  delay. 

The  gilt  of  the  pass  rose  toward  Zeitoon  at  a  sharp 
incline — a  ramp  of  slippery  wet  clay,  half  a  mile  long, 
reaching  across  from  buttress  to  buttress  of  the  impreg- 
nable hills.  It  was  more  than  a  ridden  mule  could  do  to 
keep  its  feet  on  the  slope,  and  we  had  to  dismount.  It 
was  almost  as  much  as  we  ourselves  could  do  to  make 
progress  with  the  aid  of  sticks,  and  we  knew  at  last  what 
Kagig  had  meant  by  his  boast  that  nothing  on  wheels 
could  approach  his  mountain  home.  The  poor  wretches 
who  had  struggled  so  far  with  us  simply  gave  up  hope 
and  sat  down,  proposing  to  die  there.  The  martyred  bi- 
ped copied  them,  except  that  they  were  dry-eyed  and  he 
shed  tears.  "To  think  that  I  should  come  to  this — that 
I  should  come  to  this !"  he  sobbed.  Yet  the  fool  must 
have  come  down  by  that  route,  and  have  gone  up  that  way 
once. 

We  should  have  been  in  a  quandary  but  for  the  sound 
of  axes  ringing  in  the  mountain  forest  on  our  left — 
a  dense  dark  growth  of  pine  and  other  evergreens  com- 
mencing about  a  hundred  feet  above  the  naked  rock  that 
formed  the  northerly  sifle  of  the  gorge.  Where  there 
were  axes  at  work  there  was  in  all  likelihood  a  road  that 
men  could  march  along,  and  our  refugees  sat  down  to 
let  us  do  tlie  prospecting. 

"It  would  puzzle  Napoleon  1o  bring  cannon  over  this 
approach,  and  the  Turks  don't  breed  Napoleons  nowa- 
days!" Fred  shouted  cheerily.  "Give  me  a  hundred  good 
men  and  I'll  hold  this  pass  forever!  Wait  here  while  I 
scout  for  a  way  round." 


246  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

He  tried  first  along  the  lower  edge  of  the  line  of  tim- 
ber, encouraged  by  ringing  axes,  falling  trees,  and  men 
shouting  in  the  distance. 

"It  looks  as  if  there  once  had  been  a  road  here,"  he 
shouted  down  to  us,  "but  nothing  less  than  fire  would 
clear  it  now,  and  everything  is  sopping  wet.  I  never 
saw  such  a  tangle  of  roots  and  rocks.  A  dog  couldn't  get 
through !" 

Will  volunteered  to  cross  to  the  right-hand  side  and 
hunt  over  there  for  a  practicable  path,  Gloria  stayed  be- 
side me,  and  I  had  my  first  opportunity  to  talk  with  her 
alone.  She  was  very  pale  from  the  effects  of  the  wound 
in  her  wrist,  which  was  painful  enough  to  draw  her 
young  face  and  make  her  eyes  burn  feverishly.  Even  so, 
one  realized  that  as  an  old  woman  she  would  still  be 
beautiful, 

I  watched  the  eagles  for  a  minute  or  two,  wondering 
what  to  say  to  her,  and  she  did  not  seem  to  object  to 
silence,  so  that  I  forced  an  opening  at  last  as  clumsily 
as  Peter  Measel  might  have  done  it, 

"What  is  it  about  Will  that  makes  all  women  love 
him?"  I  asked  her. 

"Oh,  do  they  all  love  him?" 

"Looks  like  it !"  said  I. 

She  still  wore  the  bandolier  they  had  stripped  from  the 
man  with  the  bandaged  feet,  although  Will  had  relieved 
her  of  the  rifle's  weight.  To  the  bottom  of  the  bando- 
lier she  had  tied  the  little  bag  for  odds  and  ends  without 
which  few  western  women  will  venture  a  mile  from  home. 
Opening  that  she  produced  a  small  round  mirror  about 
twice  the  size  of  a  dollar  piece,  and  offered  it  to  me  with 
a  smile  that  disarmed  the  rebuke. 

"Perhaps  it's  his  looks,"  she  suggested. 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  247 

I  took  the  mirror  and  studied  what  I  saw  in  it.  In 
spite  of  a  cracking  headache  due  to  that  and  the  gaining 
sun  (  for  I  had  lost  my  hat  when  the  Kurd  rode  me  down 
with  his  lance)  the  episode  of  Rustum  Khan  carrying  me 
back  out  of  death's  door  on  his  bay  mare  had  not  lingered 
in  memory.  There  had  been  too  much  else  to  think  about. 
Now  for  the  first  time  I  realized  how  near  that  lance- 
point  must  have  come  to  finishing  the  chapter  for  me. 
I  had  washed  in  the  Jihun  when  we  bivouacked,  but  had 
not  shaved ;  later  on,  my  scalp  had  bled  anew,  so  that  in 
addition  to  unruly  hair  tousled  and  matted  with  dry 
blood  I  had  a  week-old  beard  to  help  make  me  look  like 
a  graveyard  ghoul. 

"I  beg  pardon !"  I  said  simply,  handing  her  the  mirror 
back. 

At  that  she  was  seized  with  regret  for  the  unkindness, 
and  utterly  forgot  that  I  had  blundered  like  a  bullock 
into  the  sacred  sanctuary  of  her  newborn  relationship 
to  Will. 

"Oh,  I  don't  know  which  of  you  is  best!"  she  said, 
taking  my  hand  with  her  unbandaged  one.  "You  are 
great  unselfish  splendid  men.  Will  has  told  me  all  about 
you!  The  way  you  have  always  stuck  to  your  friend 
Monty  through  thick  and  thin — and  the  way  you  are 
following  him  now  to  help  these  tortured  people — oh,  I 
know  what  you  are — Will  has  told  me,  and  I'm  proud — " 

The  embarrassment  of  being  told  that  sort  of  thing  by 
a  young  and  very  lovely  woman,  when  newly  conscious 
of  dirt  and  blood  and  half-inch-long  red  whiskers,  was 
apparently  not  sufficient  for  the  mirth  of  the  exacting 
gods  of  those  romantic  hills.  There  came  interruption 
in  the  form  of  a  too-familiar  voice. 

"Oh,  that's  all  right,  you  two!    Make  the  most  of  it! 


'248  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

Spoon  all  you  want  to!  My  girl's  in  the  clutches  of  an 
outlaw !  Kiss  her  if  you  want  to — I  won't  mind  !" 

I  dropped  her  hand  as  if  it  were  hot  lead.  As  a  matter 
of  fact  I  had  hardly  been  conscious  of  holding  it. 

"Oh,  no,  don't  mind  me !"  continued  the  "martyred  bi- 
ped" in  a  tone  combining  sarcasm,  envy  and  impudence. 

"Shall  I  kill  him?"  I  asked. 

"No !  no !"  she  said.  "Don't  be  violent— don't— " 

Peter  Measel,  whom  we  had  inevitably  utterly  for- 
gotten, was  sitting  up  with  his  back  propped  against  a 
stone  and  his  legs  stretched  straight  in  front  of  him,  en- 
joying the  situation  with  all  the  curiosity  of  his  unchas- 
tened  mind.  I  hove  a  lump  of  clay  at  him,  but  missed, 
^nd  the  effort  made  my  headache  worse. 

"If  you  think  you  can  frighten  me  into  silence  you're 
mistaken !"  he  sneered,  getting  up  and  crawling  behind 
the  rock  to  protect  himself.  But  it  needed  more  than  a 
rock  to  hide  him  from  the  fury  that  took  hold  of  me  and 
sent  me  in  pursuit  in  spite  of  Gloria's  remonstrance. 

Viewed  as  revenge  my  accomplishment  was  pitiful, 
for  I  had  to  chase  the  poor  specimen  for  several  minutes, 
my  headache  growing  worse  at  every  stride,  and  he  yell- 
ing for  mercy  like  a  cur-dog  shown  the  whip,  while  the 
Armenians — women  and  little  children  as  well  as  men — 
looked  on  with  mild  astonishment  and  Gloria  objected  vol- 
ubly. He  took  to  the  clay  slope  at  last  in  hope  that  his 
light  weight  would  give  him  the  advantage ;  and  there  at 
last  I  caught  him,  and  clapped  a  big  gob  of  clay  in  his 
mouth  to  stop  his  yelling. 

Even  viewed  as  punishment  the  achievement  did  not 
iamount  to  much.  I  kicked  him  down  the  clay  slope,  and 
he  was  still  blubbering  and  picking  dirt  out  of  his  teeth 
when  Will  shouted  that  he  had  found  a  foot-track. 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  249 

"Do  you  understand  why  you've  been  kicked?"  I  de- 
manded. 

"Yes.    You're  afraid  I'll  tell  Mr.  Yerkes !" 

"Oh,  leave  him !"  said  Gloria.  "I'm  sorry  you  touched 
him.    Let's  go!" 

"It  was  as  much  your  fault  as  his,  young  woman  !'* 
snarled  the  biped,  getting  crabwise  out  of  my  reach. 
"You'll  all  be  sorry  for  this  before  I'm  through  with 
you !" 

I  was  sorry  already,  for  I  had  had  experience  enough 
of  the  world  to  know  that  decency  and  manners  are  not 
taught  to  that  sort  of  specimen  in  any  other  way  than  by 
letting  him  go  the  length  of  his  disgraceful  course. 
Carking  self-contempt  must  be  trusted  to  do  the  business 
for  him  in  the  end.  Gloria  was  right  in  the  first  in- 
stance.    I  should  have  let  him  alone. 

However,  it  was  not  possible  to  take  his  threat  seri- 
ously, and  more  than  any  man  I  ever  met  he  seemed  to 
possess  the  knack  of  falling  out  of  mind.  One  could 
forget  him  more  swiftly  than  the  birds  forget  a  false, 
alarm.  I  don't  believe  any  of  us  thought  of  him  again 
until  that  night  in  Zeitoon. 

The  path  Will  had  discovered  was  hardly  a  foot  wide 
in  places,  and  mules  could  only  work  their  way  along  by 
rubbing  hair  off  their  flanks  against  the  rock  wall  that 
rose  nearly  sheer  on  the  right  hand.  From  the  point  of 
view  of  an  invading  army  it  was  no  approach  at  all,  for 
one  man  with  a  rifle  posted  on  any  of  the  overhanging 
crags  could  have  held  it  against  a  thousand  until  relieved. 
It  was  a  mystery  why  Kagig,  or  some  one  else,  had  not 
left  a  man  at  the  foot  of  the  clay  sloi)e  to  tell  us  about 
this  narrow  causeway;  but  doubtless  Kagig  had  plenty 
to  think  about. 


250  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

He  and  most  of  his  men  had  gone  struggling  up  the 
clay  slope,  as  we  could  tell  by  the  state  of  the  going. 
Eut  they  were  old  hands  at  it  and  knew  the  trick  of  the 
stuff.  We  had  all  our  work  cut  out  to  shepiierd  our  poor 
stragglers  along  the  track  Will  found,  and  even  the  view 
of  Zeitoon  when  we  turned  round  the  last  bend  and  saw 
the  place  jeweled  in  the  morning  mist  did  not  do  much 
to  increase  the  speed. 

As  Kagig  had  once  promised  us,  it  was  "scenery  to 
burst  the  heart !"  Not  even  the  Himalayas  have  anything 
more  ruggedly  beautiful  to  show,  glistening  in  mauve  and 
gold  and  opal,  and  enormous  to  the  eye  because  the  sum- 
mits all  look  down  from  over  blowing  cloud-banks. 

There  were  moss-grown  lower  slopes,  and  waterfalls 
plunging  down  wet  ledges  from  the  loins  of  rain-swept 
majesty ;  pine  trees  looming  blue  through  a  soft  gray  fog, 
and  winds  whispering  to  them,  weeping  to  them,  moving 
the  mist  back  and  forth  again ;  shadows  of  clouds  and 
eagles  lower  yet,  moving  silently  on  sunny  slopes.  And 
up  above  it  all  was  snow — dazzling,  pure  white,  shading 
off  into  the  cold  blue  of  infinity. 

Men  clad  in  goat-skin  coats  peered  down  at  us  from 
time  to  time  from  crags  that  looked  inaccessible,  shouting 
now  and  then  curt  recognition  before  leaning  again  on 
a  modern  rifle  to  resume  the  ancient  vigil  of  the  moun- 
taineer, which  is  beyond  the  understanding  of  the  plains- 
man because  it  includes  attention  to  all  the  falling  water 
voices,  and  the  whispering  of  heights  and  deeps. 

We  came  on  Zeitoon  suddenly,  rising  out  of  a  gorge 
that  was  filled  with  ice,  or  else  a  raging  torrent,  for  six 
months  of  the  year.  Over  against  the  place  was  a  moun- 
tainside so  exactly  suggesting  painted  scenery  that  the 
senses  refused  to  believe  it  real,  until  the  roar  and  thun- 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  251 

der  of  the  Jihun  tumbling  among  crags  dinned  into  the 
ears  that  it  was  merely  wonderful,  and  not  untrue. 

The  one  approach  from  the  southward — that  gorge  up 
which  we  trudged — was  overlooked  all  along  its  length  by 
a  hundred  inaccessible  fastnesses  from  which  it  seemed  a 
handful  of  riflemen  could  have  disputed  that  right  of  way 
forever.  The  only  other  line  of  access  that  we  could  see 
was  by  a  wooden  bridge  flung  from  crag  to  crag  three 
hundred  feet  high  across  the  Jihun ;  and  the  bridge  was 
overlooked  by  buildings  and  rocks  from  which  a  hail  of 
lead  could  have  been  made  to  sweep  it  at  short  range. 

Zeitoon  itself  is  a  mountain,  next  neighbor  to  the  Bei- 
rut Dagh,  not  as  high,  nor  as  inaccessible;  but  high 
enough,  and  inaccessible  enough  to  give  further  pause  to 
its  would-be  conquerors.  Not  in  anything  resembling 
even  rows,  but  in  lawless  disorder  from  the  base  to  the 
shoulder  of  the  mountain,  the  stone  and  wooden  houses 
go  piling  skyward,  overlooking  one  another's  roofs,  and 
each  with  an  unobstructed  view  of  endless  distances.  The 
picture  was  made  infinitely  lovely  by  wisps  of  blown 
mist,  like  hair-lines  penciled  in  the  violet  air. 

Distances  were  all  foreshortened  in  that  atmosphere, 
and  it  was  mid-afternoon  before  we  came  to  a  halt  at  last 
face  to  face  with  blank  wall.  The  track  seemed  to  have 
been  blocked  by  half  the  mountain  sitting  down  across  it. 
We  sat  down  to  rest  in  the  shadow  of  the  shoulder  of  an 
overhanging  rock,  and  after  half  an  hour  some  one  looked 
down  on  us,  and  whistled  shrilly.  Kagig  with  a  rifle 
across  his  knees  looked  flown  from  a  height  of  a  hun- 
dred and  fifty  feet,  and  laughed  like  a  man  who  sees  the 
bitter  humor  of  the  end  of  shams. 

"Welcome !"  he  shouted  between  his  hands.  And  his 
voice  came  echoing  down  at  us  from  wall  to  wall  of  the 


252  THE  FA'E  OF  ZEITOON 

gorge.  Five  minutes  later  he  sent  a  man  to  lead  us 
around  by  a  hidden  track  that  led  upward,  sometimes 
through  other  houses,  and  very  often  over  roofs,  across 
ridiculously  tiny  yards,  and  in  between  walls  so  closely 
set  together  that  a  mule  could  only  squeeze  through  by 
main  force. 

We  stabled  the  mules  in  a  shed  the  man  showed  us, 
and  after  that  Kagig  received  us  four,  and  Anna,  Gloria's 
self-constituted  maid,  in  his  own  house.  It  was  bare  of 
nearly  everything  but  sheer  necessities,  and  he  made  no 
apology,  for  he  had  good  taste,  and  perfect  manners  if 
you  allowed  for  the  grim  necessity  of  being  curt  and  the 
strain  of  long  responsibility. 

A  small  bench  took  the  place  of  a  table  in  the  main 
large  room.  There  was  a  fireplace  with  a  wide  stone 
chimney  at  one  end,  and  some  stools,  and  also  folded 
skins  intended  to  be  sat  on,  and  shiny  places  on  the  wall 
where  men  in  goat-skin  coats  had  leaned  their  backs. 

Two  or  three  of  the  gipsy  women  were  hanging  about 
outside,  and  one  of  the  gipsies  who  had  been  with  him 
in  the  room  in  the  khan  at  Tarsus  appeared  to  be  filling 
the  position  of  servitor.  He  brought  us  yoghourt  in 
earthenware  bowls — extremely  cool  and  good  it  was ;  and 
after  we  had  done  I  saw  him  carry  down  a  huge  mess 
more  of  it  to  the  house  below  us,  where  many  of  the 
stragglers  we  had  brought  along  were  quartered  by  Ka- 
gig's  order. 

"Where's  Monty?"  Fred  demanded  as  soon  as  we  en- 
tered the  room. 

"Presently!"  Kagig  answered — rather  irritably  I 
thought.  He  seemed  to  have  adopted  Monty  as  his  own 
blood  brother,  and  to  resent  all  other  claims  on  him. 

The  afternoon  was  short,  for  the  shadow  of  the  sur- 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  253, 

rounding  mountains  shut  us  in.  Somebody  lighted  a  fire; 
in  the  great  open  chimney-place,  and  as  we  sat  around 
that  to  revel  in  the  warmth  that  rests  tired  limbs  better 
than  sleep  itself,  Kagig  strode  out  to  attend  to  a  million 
things — as  the  expression  of  his  face  testified. 

Then  in  came  Maga,  through  a  window,  with  self- 
betrayal  in  manner  and  look  of  having  been  watching  us 
ever  since  we  entered.  She  went  up  to  Will,  who  was 
squatted  on  folded  skins  by  the  chimney  comer,  and  stood 
beside  him,  claiming  him  without  a  word.  Her  black  hair 
hung  down  to  her  waist,  and  her  bare  feet,  not  cut  or 
bruised  like  most  of  those  that  walk  the  hills  unshod, 
shone  golden  in  the  firelight.  I  looked  about  for  Peter 
Measel,  expecting  a  scene,  but  he  had  taken  himself  off, 
perhaps  in  search  of  her. 

She  had  eyes  for  nobody  but  Gloria,  and  no  smile  for 
any  one.  Gloria  stared  back  at  her,  fascinated. 

"You  married  ?"  she  asked ;  and  Gloria  shook  her  head. 

"You  'card  me,  what  I  said  back  below  there !" 

Gloria  nodded. 

"You  sing?" 

"Sometimes." 

"You  dance?" 

"Oh,  yes.     I  love  it." 

"Ah!  You  shall  sing — you  shall  dance — against  me! 
First  you  sing — then  I  sing.  Then  you  dance — then  I 
dance — to-night — you  understan'?  If  I  sing  better  as 
you  sing — an'  if  I  dance  better  as  you  dance — then  I 
throw  you  over  Zeitoon  bridge,  an'  no  one  interfere !  But 
if  you  sing  better  as  I  sing — an'  if  you  dance  better  as  I 
dance — then  you  shall  make  a  servant  of  mc;  for  I  know 
you  will  be  too  big  fool  an'  too  chicken  'earted  to  keel  me, 
as  I  would  keel  you!     You  understan'?" 


254  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

It  rather  looked  as  if  an  issue  would  have  to  be  forced 
there  and  then,  but  at  that  minute  Grcgor  entered,  and 
drove  her  out  with  an  oath  and  terrific  gesture,  she  not 
seeming  jDarticularly  afraid  of  him,  but  willing  to  wait  for 
the  better  chance  she  foresaw  was  coming.  Gregor  made 
no  explanation  or  apology,  but  fastened  down  the  leather 
window-curtain  after  her  and  threw  more  wood  on  the 
fire. 

Then  back  came  Kagig. 

"Where  the  devil's  Monty?"  Fred  demanded. 

*'Come !"  was  the  only  answer.  And  we  all  got  up  and 
followed  him  out  into  the  chill  night  air,  and  down  over 
three  roofs  to  a  long  shed  in  which  lights  were  burning. 
All  the  houses  on  every  side  of  us  were  ahum  with  life, 
and  small  wonder,  for  Zeitoon  was  harboring  the  refugees 
from  all  the  district  between  there  and  Tarsus,  to  say 
nothing  of  fighting  men  who  came  in  from  the  hills  be- 
hind to  lend  a  hand.  But  we  were  bent  on  seeing  Monty 
at  last,  and  had  no  patience  for  other  matters. 

However,  it  was  only  the  prisoners  he  had  led  us  out 
to  see,  and  nothing  more. 

"Look,  see!"  he  said,  opening  the  heavy  wooden  door 
of  the  shed  as  an  armed  sentry  made  way  for  him. 
(Those  armed  men  of  Zeitoon  did  not  salute  one  an- 
other, but  preserved  a  stoic  attitude  that  included  recog- 
nition of  the  other  fellow's  right  to  independence,  too.) 
"Look  in  there,  and  see,  and  tell  me — do  the  Turks  treat 
Armenian  prisoners  that  way?" 

We  entered,  and  walked  down  the  length  of  the  dim 
interior,  passing  between  dozens  of  prisoners  lying  com- 
fortably enough  on  skins  and  blankets.  As  far  as  one 
could  judge,  they  had  been  fed  well,  and  they  did  not  wear 
the  look  of  neglect  or  ill-treatment.    At  the  end,  in  a  little 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  255 

pen  all  by  himself,  was  the  colonel  whom  Rustum  Khan 
had  made  a  present  of  to  Gloria. 

"What's  the  straw  for?"  Fred  demanded. 

"Ask  him!"  said  Kagig.  "He  understands!  H  there 
should  be  treachery  the  straw  will  be  set  alight,  and  he 
shall  know  how  pigs  feel  when  they  are  roasted  alive! 
Never  fear — there  will  be  no  treachery!" 

We  followed  him  back  to  his  own  house,  he  urging  us 
to  make  good  note  of  the  prisoners'  condition,  and  to 
bear  witness  before  the  world  to  it  afterward. 

"The  world  does  not  know  the  difference  between  Ar- 
menians and  Turks !"  he  complained  again  and  again. 

Once  again  we  arranged  ourselves  about  his  open  chim- 
ney-place, this  time  with  Kagig  on  a  foot-stool  in  the 
midst  of  us.  Heat,  weariness,  and  process  of  digestion 
were  combining  to  make  us  drowsily  comfortable,  and  I, 
for  one,  would  have  fallen  asleep  where  I  sat.  But  at 
last  the  long-awaited  happened,  and  in  came  Monty 
striding  like  a  Norman,  dripping  with  dew,  and  clean 
from  washing  in  the  icy  water  of  some  mountain  torrent. 

"Oh,  hello,  Didums!"  Fred  remarked,  as  if  they  had 
parted  al^out  an  hour  ago.  "You  long-legged  rascal,  you 
look  as  if  you'd  been  having  the  time  of  your  life !" 

"I  have!"  said  Monty.  And  after  a  short  swift  stare 
at  him  Fred  looked  glum.  Those  two  men  understood 
each  other  as  the  clapper  understands  the  bell. 


"IT  WAS  VERY  GOOD" 

(Genesis  1 :31) 

I  sazv  tJicse  sJiamhlcs  in  my  yotith,  and  said 

There  is  no  God!  No  Pitiful  presides 

Over  such  obsequies  as  these.    The  end 

Alike  is  darkness  whether  foe  or  friend. 

Beast,  man  or  flozver  the  event  abides. 

There  is  no  heaven  for  the  hopeful  dead — 

No  better  haven  than  forgetful  sod 

That  sniotJicrs  limbs  and  moutli  and  ears  and  eyes, 

And  zvith  those,  love  and  permanence  and  strife 

And  vanity  and  laughter  that  they  thought  zvas  life. 

Making  mere  compost  of  the  one  zvho  dies. 

To  zvhose  advantage?    Nay,  there  is  no  God! 

But  He,  zvliose  other  name  is  Pitiful,  zvas  pleased 

By  melting  gentleness  zvhose  measures  broke 

The  ramps  of  ignorance  and  keeps  of  lust. 

Tumbling  alike  folly  and  the  fool  to  dust, 

To  teach  me  zuomanhood  until  there  spoke 

Still  voices  inspiration  had  released, 

And  I  heard  truly.    All  the  voices  said: 

Out  of  departed  yesterday  is  grozvn  to-day; 

Out  of  to-day  to-morrozv  surely  breaks; 

Out  of  corruption  the  inspired  azvakes; 

Out  of  existence  eartli-clonds  roll  azvay 

And  leave  all  living,  for  there  are  no  dead! 


CHAPTER  SIXTEEN 

"What  care  I  for  my  belly,  sahib,  if  you  break  my  heart?" 

yi  FTER  we  had  made  room  for  Alonty  before  the  fire 
_/~\_and  some  one  had  hung  his  wet  jacket  up  to  dry, 
we  volleyed  questions  at  him  faster  than  he  could  an- 
swer. He  sat  still  and  let  us  finish,  with  fingers  locked 
together  over  his  crossed  knee  and,  underneath  the  in- 
evitable good  humor,  a  rather  puzzled  air  of  wishing 
above  all  things  to  understand  our  point  of  view.  Over 
and  over  again  I  have  noticed  that  trait,  although  he  al- 
ways tried  to  cover  it  under  an  air  of  polite  indift'erence 
and  easy  tolerance  that  was  as  opaque  to  a  careful  ob- 
server as  Fred's  attempts  at  cynicism. 

In  the  end  he  answered  the  last  question  first. 

"My  agreement  with  Kagig?" 

"Yes,  tell  them!"  put  in  Kagig.  "If  I  should,  they 
would  say  I  lied !" 

"It's  nothing  to  speak  of,"  said  Monty  oft'handcdly. 
"It  dawned  on  our  friend  here  that  I  have  had  experi- 
ence in  some  of  the  arts  of  war.  I  proposed  to  him  that 
if  he  would  take  a  force  and  go  to  find  you,  I  would 
help  him  to  the  limit  without  further  condition.  That's 
all." 

"All,  you  ass  ?  Didums,  I  warned  you  at  the  time  when 
you  let  them  make  you  privy  councilor  that  you  couldn't 
ever  feel  free  again  to  kick  over  traces !  Dammit,  man, 
you  can  be  impeached  by  parliament !" 

"Quite  so.  Fred.  I  propose  that  parliament  shall  have 
to  do  something  at  last  about  this  state  of  affairs." 

257 


258  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

"You'll  end  up  in  an  English  jail,  and  God  help  you! 
— social  position  gone — milked  of  your  last  pound  to  foot 
the  lawyers'  bills — otherwise  they'll  hang  you !" 

"Let  'cm  hang  me  after  I'm  caught !  I've  promised. 
Remember  what  Byron  did  for  Greece?  I  don't  suppose 
his  actual  fighting  amounted  to  very  much,  but  he  brought 
the  case  of  Greece  to  the  attention  of  the  public.  Pub- 
lic opinion  did  the  rest,  badly,  I  admit,  but  better  badly 
and  late  than  never.  I'm  in  this  scrimmage,  Fred,  until 
the  last  bell  rings  and  they  hoist  my  number." 

"Fine!"  exclaimed  Gloria,  jumping  to  her  feet.  "So 
am  I  in  it  to  a  finish  I" 

Monty  smiled  at  her  with  understanding  and  approval. 

"Almost  my  first  duty.  Miss  Vanderman,"  he  said 
kindly,  "will  be  to  arrange  that  you  can  not  possibly 
come  to  harm  or  be  prejudiced  by  any  course  the  rest  of 
us  may  decide  on." 

"Quite  so!"  Will  agreed  with  a  grin,  and  Fred  began 
chuckling  like  a  schoolboy  at  a  show. 

"Nonsense !"  she  answered  hotly.  "I've  come  to  harm 
already — see,  I'm  wounded — I've  been  fighting — I'm  al- 
ready prejudiced  as  you  call  it!  If  you're  an  outlaw,  so 
am  I !" 

She  flourished  her  bandaged  wrist  and  looked  like 
Joan  of  Arc  about  to  summon  men  to  sacrifice.  But  the 
argument  ready  on  her  lips  was  checked  suddenly.  The 
night  was  without  wind,  yet  the  outer  door  burst  open 
exactly  as  if  a  sudden  hurricane  had  struck  it,  and  Maga 
entered  w^ith  a  lantern  in  her  hand.  She  tried  to  kick  the 
door  shut  again,  but  it  closed  on  Peter  Measel  who  had 
followed  breathlessly,  and  she  turned  and  banged  his  head 
with  the  bottom  of  the  lantern  until  the  glass  shattered  to 
pieces. 


,1L     Jj'l/ltMT 

iiMiMir    I    III 


Md'ju  Yaki 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  259 

"That  fool !"  she  shouted.  "Oh,  that  fool !"  Then  she 
let  him  come  in  and  close  the  door,  giving  him  the  broken 
lantern  to  hold,  which  he  did  very  meekly,  rubbing  the 
crown  of  his  head  with  the  other  hand;  and  she  stood 
facing  the  lot  of  us  with  hands  on  her  hips  and  a  fine  air 
of  despising  every  one  of  us.  But  I  noticed  that  she 
kept  a  cautious  eye  on  Kagig,  who  in  return  paid  very 
little  attention  to  her. 

"Fight?"  she  exclaimed,  pointing  at  Gloria.  "What 
does  she  know  about  fighting?  If  she  can  fight,  let  her 
fight  me !  I  stand  ready — I  wait  for  'er !  Give  'er  a  knife, 
an'  I  will  fight  'er  with  my  bare  'ands !" 

Gloria  turned  pale  and  Will  laid  a  hand  oa  her  shoul- 
der, whispering  something  that  brought  the  color  back 
again. 

"Maga !" 

Kagig  said  that  one  word  in  a  level  voice,  but  the 
effect  was  greater  than  if  he  had  pointed  a  pistol.  The 
fire  died  from  her  eyes  and  she  nodded  at  him  simply. 
Then  her  eyes  blazed  again,  although  she  looked  away 
from  Gloria  toward  a  window.  The  leather  blind  was 
tied  down  at  the  corners  by  strips  of  twisted  hide. 

She  began  to  jabber  in  the  gipsy  tongue — then  changed 
her  mind  and  spat  it  out  in  English  for  our  joint  benefit. 

"All  right.  She  is  nothing  to  do  w'ith  me,  that  woman, 
and  she  shall  come  to  a  rotten  end,  I  know,  an'  that  is 
enough.  But  there  is  some  one  listening!  Not  a  woman 
— not  with  sjjunk  enough  to  be  a  woman!  That  dirrty 
horse-pond  drinking  unshaven  black  bastard  Rrrustum 
Khan  is  outside  listening!  You  think  'e  is  busy  at  the 
fortifying?  Then  I  tell  you,  No,  'c  is  not!  'E  is  outside 
listening!" 

The  surprising  answer  to  that  assertion  was  a  heavy 


.260  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

saber  thrust  between  the  window-frame  and  bhnd  and 
descending  on  the  thong.  Next  followed  Rustum  Khan's 
long  boot.  Then  came  the  man  himself  with  dew  all  over 
his  upbrushed  beard,  returning  the  saber  to  its  scabbard 
with  an  accompanying  apologetic  motion  of  the  head. 

"Aye,  I  was  listening!"  He  spoke  as  one  unashamed. 
"Umm  Kulsum"  (that  was  his  fancy  name  for  Maga) 
"spoke  truth  for  once!  I  came  from  the  fortifying, 
where  all  is  finished  that  can  be  done  to-night.  I  have 
been  the  rounds.  I  have  Inspected  everything.  I  report 
all  well.  On  my  way  hither  I  saw  Umm  Kulsum,  with 
that  jackal  trotting  at  her  heel" — he  made  a  scornful  ges- 
ture in  the  direction  of  Peter  Measel,  who  winced  per- 
ceptibly, at  which  Fred  Oakes  chuckled  and  nudged  me — 
"and  I  followed  Umm  Kulsum,  to  observe  what  harm  she 
might  intend." 

"Black  pig!"  remarked  Maga,  but  Rustum  Khan 
merely  turned  his  splendid  back  a  trifle  more  toward  her. 
His  color,  allowing  for  the  black  beard,  was  hardly  darker 
than  hers. 

"Why  should  I  not  listen,  since  my  heart  is  in  the  mat- 
ter ?  Lord  sahib  —  Colonel  sahib  bahadur !  —  take  back 
those  words  before  it  is  too  late !  Undo  the  promise  made 
to  this  Armenian !  What  is  he  to  thee  ?  Set  me  instead 
of  thee,  sahib !  What  am  I  ?  I  have  no  wives,  no  lands 
any  longer  since  the  money-lenders  closed  their  clutches 
on  my  eldest  son,  no  hope,  nor  any  fellowship  with  kings 
to  lose !  But  I  can  fight,  as  thou  knowest !  Give  me,  sa- 
hib, to  redeem  thy  promise,  and  go  thou  home  to  Eng- 
land !" 

"Sit  down,  Rustum  Khan!" 

"But,  sahilj— " 

"Sit  down  !"  Monty  repeated. 


JHE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  261 

"I  will  not  see  thee  sacrificed  for  this  tribe  of  ragged 
pecple,  Colonel  sahib !" 

Monty  rose  to  his  feet  slowly.  His  face  was  an  enigma. 
The  Rajput  stood  at  attention  facing  him  and  they  met 
each  other's  eyes — East  facing  West — in  such  fashion 
that  manhood  seemed  to  fill  the  smoky  room.  Every  one 
was  silent.  Even  Maga  held  her  breath.  Monty  strode 
toward  Rustum  Khan ;  the  Rajput  was  the  first  to  speak. 

"Colonel  sahib,  I  spoke  wise  words !" 

It  seemed  to  me  that  Monty  looked  very  keenly  at  him 
before  he  answered. 

"Have  you  had  supper,  Rustum  Khan?  You  look  to 
me  feverish  from  overwork  and  lack  of  food." 

"What  care  I  for  my  belly,  sahib,  if  you  break  my 
heart?"  the  Rajput  answered.  "Shall  I  live  to  see  Turks 
fling  thy  carcass  to  the  birds?  I  have  offered  my  own 
body  in  place  of  thine.  Am  I  without  honor,  that  my 
offer  is  refused?" 

Monty  answered  that  in  the  Rajput  tongue,  and  it 
sounded  like  the  bass  notes  of  an  organ. 

"Brother  mine,  it  is  not  the  custom  of  my  race  to  send 
substitutes  to  keep  such  promises.  That  thou  knowest, 
and  none  has  reason  to  know  better.  H  thy  memories 
and  honor  urge  thee  to  come  the  way  I  take,  is  there  no 
room  for  two  of  us?" 

"Aye,  sahib!"  said  the  Rajput  huskily.  "I  said  before, 
I  am  thy  man.    I  come.     I  obey !" 

"Obey,  do  you  ?"  Monty  laid  both  hands  on  the  Raj- 
put's shoulders,  struck  him  knee  against  knee  without 
warning  and  ])rcsscd  him  down  into  a  squatting  posture. 
"Then  obey  when  I  order  you  to  sit !" 

The  Raji)nt  laughed  up  at  him  as  suddenly  sweet-tem- 
pered as  a  child. 


262  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

"None  other  could  have  done  that  and  not  fought  me 
for  il !"  he  said  simply.  "None  other  would  have  had  the 
strength !"  he  added. 

Monty  ignored  the  pleasantry  and  turned  to  Maga,  so 
surprising  that  young  woman — that  she  gasped. 

"Bring  him  food  at  once,  please !" 

"Me  ?  I  ?  I  bring  him  food  ?  I  feed  that  black—" 

"Yes  !"  snapped  Kagig  suddenly.   "You,  Maga !" 

Maga's  and  Kagig's  eyes  met,  and  again  he  had  his 
way  with  her  instantly.  Peter  Mcasel,  standing  over  by 
the  door,  looked  wistful  and  sighed  noisily. 

"Why  should  you  obey  him?"  he  demanded,  but  Maga 
ignored  him  as  she  passed  out,  and  Fred  nudged  me 
again. 

"A  miracle !"  he  whispered.  "Did  you  hear  the  mar- 
tyred biped  suggest  rebellion  to  her  ?  He'll  be  offering  to 
fight  Kagig  next!  Guess  what  is  Kagig's  hold  over  the 
girl — can  you?" 

But  a  much  greater  miracle  followed.  Rather  than 
disobc}'-  Monty  again ;  rather  than  seem  to  question  his 
authority,  or  differ  from  his  judgment  in  the  least,  Rus- 
tum  Khan  forebore  presently  from  sending  for  his  own 
stripling  servant  and  actually  accepted  food  from  Maga's 
hands. 

As  a  Muhammadan,  he  made  in  theory  no  caste  dis- 
tinctions. But  as  a  Rajput  he  had  fixed  Hindu  notions 
without  knowing  it,  and  almost  his  chief  care  was  lest 
his  food  should  be  defiled  by  the  touch  of  outcasts,  of 
whom  he  reckoned  gipsies  lowest,  vilest  and  least  cleansi- 
ble.  Nevertheless  he  accepted  curds  that  had  been  touched 
by  gipsy  fingers,  and  ate  greedily,  in  confirmation  of 
Monty's  diagnosis;  and  after  a  few  minutes  he  laid  his 
head  on  a  folded  goat-skin  in  the  corner,  and  fell  asleep. 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON "  263 

Then  Monty  sent  a  servant  to  his  own  quarters  for 
some  prized  possession  that  he  mentioned  in  a  whisper 
behind  his  hand.  None  of  us  suspected  what  it  might  be 
until  the  man  returned  presently  with  a  quart  bottle  of 
Scotch  whisky.  Kagig  himself  got  mugs  down  from  a 
shelf  three  inches  wide,  and  Monty  poured  libations. 
Kagig,  standing  with  legs  apart,  drank  his  share  of  the 
strong  stuff  without  waiting;  and  that  brought  out  the 
chief  surprise  of  the  evening. 

"Ah-h-h!"  he  exclaimed,  using  the  back  of  his  hand 
to  wipe  mobile  lips,  "Not  since  I  drank  in  Tony's  have 
I  tasted  that  stuff!  The  taste  makes  me  homesick  for 
what  never  was  my  home,  nor  ever  can  be !  Tony's — ah !" 

"What  Tony's  ?"  demanded  Will,  emerging  from  whis- 
pered interludes  with  Gloria  like  a  man  coming  out  of  a 
dream. 

"Tony's  down  near  the  Battery." 

"What — the  Battery,  New  York?" 

"Where  else?  Tony  was  a  friend  of  mine.  Tony  lent 
me  money  when  I  landed  in  the  States  without  a  coin.  It 
was  right  that  I  should  take  a  last  drink  with  Tony  be- 
fore I  came  away  for  ever." 

Fred  reached  into  the  corner  for  a  lump  of  wood  and 
set  it  down  suggestively  before  the  fire.  Kagig  accepted 
and  sat  down  on  it,  stretching  his  legs  out  rather  wearily. 

"I  noticed  you've  been  remembering  your  English 
much  better  than  at  first,"  said  Will.  "Go  on,  man, 
tell  us !" 

Kagig  cleared  his  throat  and  warmed  himself  while  his 
eyes  seemed  to  search  the  flames  for  stories  from  a  half- 
forgotten  past. 

"Weren't  the  States  good  enough  for  you?"  Will  sug- 
gested, by  way  of  starting  him  ofT. 


264  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

"Good  enough  ?  Ah !"  He  made  all  eight  fingers  crack 
h'ke  castanets,  "Much  too  good !  How  could  I  live  there 
safe  and  comfortable — eggs  and  bacon — clean  shirt — 
good  shoes — an  apartment  with  a  bath  in  it — easy  work 
— good  pay — books  to  read — kindness — freedom — how 
could  I  accept  all  that,  remembering  my  people  in  Ar- 
menia ?'* 

He  ran  his  fingers  through  his  hair,  and  stared  in  the 
fire  again — remembering  America  perhaps. 

"There  was  a  time  when  I  forgot.  All  young  men  for- 
get for  a  while  if  you  feed  them  well  enough.  The  sensa- 
tion of  having  money  in  my  pocket  and  the  right  to  spend 
it  made  me  drunk.  I  forgot  Armenia.  I  took  out  what 
are  called  first  papers.  I  was  very  prosperous — very 
grateful." 

He  lapsed  into  silence  again,  holding  his  head  bowed 
between  his  hands. 

"Why  didn't  you  become  a  citizen  7"  asked  Will. 

"Ah !  Many  a  time  I  thought  of  it.  I  am  citizen  of  no 
land — of  no  land !  I  am  outlaw  here — outlaw  in  the 
.States!  I  slew  a  Turk.  They  would  electrocute  me  in 
New  York — for  slaying  the  man  who — have  you  heard 
me  tell  what  happened  to  my  mother,  before  my  very 
eyes?  Well — that  man  came  to  America,  and  I  slew 
him !" 

"Why  did  you  leave  Armenia  in  the  first  place?"  asked 
Gloria,  for  he  seemed  to  need  pricking  along  to  prevent 
him  from  getting  off  the  track  into  a  maze  of  silent 
memory. 

"Why  not?  I  was  lucky  to  get  away!  That  cursed 
Abdul  Hamid  had  been  rebuked  by  the  powers  of  Europe 
for  butchering  Bulgars,  so  he  turned  on  us  Armenians 
in  order  to  prove  to  himself   that  he  could  do  as  he 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  265 

pleased  in  his  own  house.  I  tell  you,  murder  and  rape 
in  those  days  were  as  common  as  flies  at  midsummer !  I 
escaped,  and  worked  my  passage  in  the  stoke-hole  of  a 
little  merchant  steamer — they  were  little  ships  in  those 
days.  And  when  I  reached  America  without  money  or 
friends  they  let  me  land  because  I  had  been  told  by  the 
other  sailors  to  say  I  was  fleeing  from  religious  persecu- 
tion. The  very  first  day  I  found  a  friend  in  Tony.  I 
cleaned  his  windows,  and  the  bar,  and  the  spittoons ;  and 
he  lent  me  money  to  go  where  work  would  be  plentiful. 
Those  were  the  days. when  I  forgot  Armenia." 

He  began  to  forget  our  existence  again,  laying  his  face 
on  his  forearms  and  staring  down  at  the  floor  between 
his  feet. 

"What  brought  it  back  to  memory  ?"  asked  Gloria. 

"The  Turk  brought  it  back  —  Fiamil  —  who  bought 
my  mother  from  four  drunken  soldiers,  and  ill-treated 
her  before  my  eyes.  He  came  to  the  Turkish  consulate, 
not  as  consul  but  in  some  pecviliar  position ;  and  by  that 
time  I  was  thriving  as  head- waiter  and  part-owner  of 
a  New  York  restaurant.  Thither  the  fat  beast  came  to 
eat  daily.  And  so  I  met  him,  and  recognized  him.  He 
did  not  know  me. 

"Remember,  I  was  young,  and  prosperous  for  the  first 
time  in  all  my  life.  You  must  not  judge  me  by  too  up- 
right standards.  At  first  I  argued  with  myself  to  let  him 
alone.  He  was  nothing  to  me.  I  no  longer  believed  in 
God.  My  mother  was  long  dead,  and  Armenia  no  more 
my  country.  My  motiey  was  accumulating  in  a  savings 
bank.  I  was  proud  of  it,  and  I  remember  I  saw  visions 
of  great  restaurants  in  every  city  of  America,  all  owned 
by  me !  I  did  not  like  to  take  any  step  that  should  pre- 
vent that  flow  oi  money  into  the  savings  bank. 


266  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

"But  Fiamil  inflamed  my  memory,  and  I  saw  him  every 
day.  And  at  last  it  dawned  on  me  what  his  peculiar  busi- 
ness in  America  must  be.  He  was  back  at  his  old  games, 
buying  women.  He  was  buying  American  young  women 
to  be  shipped  to  Turkey,  all  under  the  seal  of  consular 
activity.  One  day,  after  he  had  had  lunch  and  I  had 
brought  him  cigarettes  and  coffee,  he  made  a  proposal. 
And  although  I  did  not  care  very  deeply  for  the  women 
of  a  free  land  who  were  willing  to  be  sold  into  Turkish 
harems,  nevertheless,  as  I  said,  he  inflamed  my  memory. 
A  love  of  Armenia  returned  to  me.  I  remembered  my 
people,  I  remembered  my  mother's  shame,  and  my  own 
shame. 

"After  a  little  reflection  I  agreed  with  Fiamil,  and  met 
him  that  night  in  an  up-stairs  room  at  a  place  he  fre- 
quented for  his  purposes.  I  locked  the  door,  and  we  had 
some  talk  in  there,  until  in  the  end  he  remembered  me 
and  all  the  details  of  my  mother's  death.  After  that  I 
killed  him  with  a  corkscrew  and  my  ten  fingers,  there 
being  no  other  weapon.  And  I  threw  his  body  out  of 
the  window  into  the  gutter,  as  my  mother's  body  had 
been  thrown,  myself  escaping  from  the  building  by  an- 
other way. 

"Not  knowing  where  to  hide,  I  kept  going — kept  going ; 
and  after  two  days  I  fell  among  sportmen — cow-punchers 
they  called  themselves,  who  had  come  to  New  York  with 
a  circus,  and  the  circus  had  gone  broke.  To  them  I  told 
some  of  my  story,  and  they  befriended  me,  taking  me 
West  with  them  to  cook  their  meals;  and  for  a  year  I 
traveled  in  cow  camps.  In  those  days  I  remembered  God 
as  well  as  Armenia,  and  I  used  to  pray  by  starlight. 

"And  Armenia  kept  calling — calling.  Fiamil  had  wak- 
ened in  me  too  many  old  memories.    But  there  was  the 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  267 

money  in  the  savings  bank  that  I  did  not  dare  to  draw  for 
fear  the  pohce  might  learn  my  address,  yet  I  had  not  the 
heart  to  leave  behind. 

"So  I  took  a  sportman  into  my  confidence,  and  told 
him  about  my  money,  and  why  I  wanted  it.  He  was  not 
the  foreman,  but  the  man  who  took  the  place  of  foreman 
when  the  real  foreman  was  too  drunk — the  hungriest 
man  of  all,  and  so  oftenest  near  the  cook-fire.  When  I 
had  told  him,  he  took  me  to  a  township  where  a  lawyer 
was,  and  the  lawyer  drew  up  a  document,  which  I  signed. 

"Then  the  sportman — his  name  was  Larry  Atkins,  I 
remember — took  that  document  and  went  to  draw  the 
money  on  my  behalf.  And  tliat  was  the  last  I  saw  of  him. 
Not  that  he  was  not  sportman — all  through.  He  told  me 
in  a  letter  afterward  that  the  police  arrested  him,  sup- 
posing him  to  be  me,  but  that  he  easily  proved  he  was 
not  me,  and  so  got  away  with  the  money.  Enclosed  in 
the  package  in  which  the  letter  came  were  his  diamond 
ring  and  a  watch  and  chain,  and  he  also  sent  me  an  order 
to  deliver  to  me  his  horse  and  saddle. 

"He  explained  he  had  tried  to  double  my  money  by 
gambling,  but  had  lost.  Therefore  he  now  sent  me  all 
he  had  left,  a  fair  exchange  being  no  robbery.  Oh,  he 
was  certainly  sportman ! 

"So  I  sold  his  watch  and  chain  and  the  horse — but  the 
diamond  ring  I  kept — behold  it! — see,  on  Maga's  hand! 
— it  was  a  real  diamond  that  a  woman  had  given  him ; 
and  with  the  proceeds  I  came  back  to  Armenia.  In  Ar- 
menia I  have  ever  since  remained,  with  the  exception  of 
one  or  two  little  journeys  in  time  of  war,  and  one  or  two 
little  temporary  hidings,  and  a  trip  into  Persia,  and  an- 
other into  Russia  to  get  ammunition. 

"How  have  I  lived?   Mostly  by  robbery!    I  rob  Turks 


268  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

and  all  friends  of  Turks,  and  such  people  as  help  make 
it  possible  for  Turks  as  a  nation  to  continue  to  exist!  I 
— we — I  and  my  men — we  steal  a  cartridge  sooner  than 
a  piaster — a  rifle  sooner  than  a  thousand  roubles!  Out- 
laws must  live,  and  weapons  are  the  chief  means!  I  am 
the  brains  and  the  Eye  of  Zeitoon,  but  I  have  never  been 
chieftain,  and  am  not  now.  Observe  my  house — is  it  not 
empty?  I  tell  you,  if  it  had  not  been  for  my  new  friend 
Monty  there  would  have  been  six  or  seven  rival  chieftains 
in  Zeitoon  to-night !  As  it  is,  they  sulk  in  their  houses, 
the  others,  because  Monty  has  rallied  all  the  fighting 
men  to  me !  Now  that  Monty  has  come  I  think  there  will 
be  unity  forever  in  Zeitoon !" 

He  turned  toward  Monty  with  a  gesture  of  really  mag- 
nificent approval.  Caesar  never  declined  a  crown  with 
greater  dignity. 

"You,  my  brother,  have  accomplished  in  a  few  days 
what  I  have  failed  to  do  in  years !  That  is  because  you 
are  sportman !  Just  as  Larry  Atkins  was  sportman !  He 
sent  me  all  he  had,  and  could  not  do  more.  I  understood 
him.  Why  did  he  do  it?  Simply  sportman — that  is  all! 
Why  do  you  do  this?  Why  do  you  throw  your  life  into 
the  hot  cauldron  of  Zeitoon?  Because  you  are  sportman ! 
And  my  people  see,  and  understand.  They  understand, 
as  they  have  never  understood  me !  I  will  tell  you  why 
they  have  never  understood  me.  This  is  why : 

"I  have  always  kept  a  little  in  reserve.  At  one  time 
money  in  a  bank.  At  another  time  money  buried.  Some- 
times a  place  to  run  and  hide  in.  Now  and  then  a  plan 
for  my  own  safety  in  case  a  defense  should  fail.  Never 
have  I  given  absolutely  quite  all,  burning  all  my  bridges. 
Had  I  been  Larry  Atkins  I  would  not  have  gambled  with 
the  money  of  a  man  who  trusted  me ;  but,  having  lost  the 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  269 

money,  I  would  not  have  sent  my  diamond  and  the  watch 
and  chain!  Neither,  if  the  horse  and  saddle  had  been 
within  my  reach  would  I  have  sent  an  order  to  deliver 
those !  That  is  why  Zeitoon  has  never  altogether  trusted 
me!   Some,  but  never  all,  until  to-night! 

"My  brother—" 

He  stood  up,  with  the  motions  of  a  man  who  is  stiff 
with  weariness. 

" — I  salute  you !  You  have  taught  me  my  needed  les- 
son!" 

"I  wonder !"  whispered  Fred  to  me.  "Remember  Peter 
at  the  fireside?  Methinks  friend  Kagig  doth  too  much 
protest !  We'll  see.   Nemesis  comes  swiftly  as  a  rule." 

I  shoved  Fred  oft  his  balance,  rolled  him  over,  and  sat 
on  him,  because  cynicism  and  iconoclasm  are  twin  deities 
I  neither  worship  nor  respect.  But  at  times  Fred  Oakes 
is  gifted  with  uncanny  vision.  While  he  struggled  ex- 
plosively to  throw  me  off,  the  door  began  resounding  to 
steady  thumps,  and  at  a  sign  from  Kagig,  Maga  opened  it. 

There  strode  in  nine  Armenians,  followed  closely  by 
one  of  the  gipsies  of  Gregor  Jhaere's  party,  who  whis- 
pered to  Maga  through  lips  that  hardly  moved,  and  made 
signals  to  Kagig  with  a  secretive  hand  like  a  snake's 
head.  I  got  otT  Fred's  stomach  then,  and  when  he  had 
had  his  revenge  by  emptying  hot  pipe  ashes  down  my 
neck  he  sat  close  beside  me  and  translated  what  followed 
word  for  word.  It  was  all  in  Armenian,  spoken  in  deadly 
earnest  by  hairy  men  on  edge  with  anxiety  and  yet  com- 
pelled to  grudging  patience  by  the  presence  of  strangers 
and  knowledge  of  the  hour's  necessity. 

When  the  gipsy  had  finished  making  signals  to  Kagig 
he  sat  <lown  and  seemed  to  take  no  further  interest.  But 
a  little  later  I  caught  sight  of  him  by  the  dancing  fire- 


270  JHE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

light  creeping  along  the  wall,  and  presently  he  lay  down 
-with  his  head  very  dose  to  Riistum  Khan's.  Nothing 
points  more  dearly  to  the  clarifying  tension  of  that  night 
than  the  fact  that  Rnstiim  Khan  Avith  his  notions  about 
gipsies  could  compel  himself  to  lie  still  with  a  gipsy's 
head  within  three  inches  of  his  own,  and  sham  sleep  while 
the  gipsy  whispered  to  him.  I  was  not  the  only  one  who 
observed  that  marvel,  although  I  did  not  know  that  at  the 
time. 

The  nine  Armenians  who  had  entered  were  evidently 
influential  men.  Elders  was  the  word  that  occurred  as 
best  describing  them.  They  were  smelly  with  rain  and 
smoke  and  the  close-kept  sweat  beneath  their  leather 
coats — all  of  them  bearded — nearly  all  big  men — and  they 
strode  and  stood  with  the  air  of  being  usually  heard  when 
they  chose  to  voice  opinion.  Kagig  stood  up  to  meet 
them,  with  his  back  toward  the  fire — legs  astraddle,  and 
hands  clasped  behind  him. 

"Ephraim  says,"  began  the  tallest  of  the  nine,  who  had 
entered  first  and  stood  now  nearest  to  Kagig  and  the 
firelight,  "that  you  will  yourself  be  king  of  Armenia !" 

"Ephraim  lies !"  said  Kagig  grimly.  "He  always  does 
lie.  That  man  can  not  tell  truth !" 

Two  of  the  others  grunted,  and  nudged  the  first  man, 
who  made  an  exclamation  of  impatience  and  renewed  the 
attack. 

"But  there  is  the  Turk — the  colonel  whom  your  Indian 
friend  took  prisoner — he  says — " 

"Pah!  What  Turk  tdls  the  truth?" 

"He  says  that  the  Indian — what  is  his  name  ?  Rustum 
Khan  —  was  purposing  to  use^jiixn  as  prisoner-of-war, 
whereas  in  accordance  with  a  private  agreement  made 
beforehand  you  were  determined  to  make  matters  easy 


.THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  271 

for  him.  He  demands  of  us  better  treatment  in  fulfil- 
ment of  promise.  He  says  that  the  army  is  coming  to 
take  Zeitoon,  and  to  make  you  governor  in  the  Sultan's 
name.  He  offered  us  that  argument  thinking  we  are  your 
dupes.  He  thought  to — " 

"Dupes?"  snarled  Kagig.  ''How  long  have  ye  dealt 
with  Turks,  and  how  long  with  me,  that  ye  take  a  Turk's 
word  against  mine  ?" 

"But  the  Turk  thought  we  are  your  friends,"  put  in  a 
harsh-voiced  man  from  the  rear  of  the  delegation. 
"Otherwise,  how  should  he  have  told  us  such  a  thing?" 

"If  he  had  thought  you  v/ere  my  friends,"  Kagig  an- 
swered, "he  would  never  have  dared.  If  you  had  been 
my  friends,  you  would  have  taken  him  and  thrown  him 
into  Jihun  River  from  the  bridge !" 

"Yet  he  has  said  this  thing,"  said  a  man  who  had  not 
spoken  yet. 

"And  none  has  heard  you  deny  it,  Kagig!"  added  the 
man  nearest  the  door. 

"Then  hear  me  now !"  Kagig  shouted,  on  tiptoe  with 
anger.  Then  he  calmed  himself  and  glanced  about  the 
room  for  a  glimpse  of  eyes  friendly  to  himself.  "Hear 
me  now.  Those  Turks — truly  come  to  set  a  governor 
over  Zeitoon.  I  forgot  that  the  prisoner  might  under- 
stand English.  I  talked  with  this  friend  of  mine" — he 
made  a  gesture  toward  Monty.  "Perhaps  that  Turk 
overheard,  he  is  cleverer  than  he  looks.  I  had  a  plan, 
and  I  told  it  to  my  friend.  Tbe  Turk  was  near,  I  remem- 
ber, eating  the  half  of  my  dinner  I  gave  him." 

"Have  you  then  a  plan  you  never  told  to  us?"  tbe  fust 
man  asked  suspiciously. 

"One  plan  ?  A  thousand !  Am  I  wind  that  I  should 
babble  into  heedless  ears  each  thou;?ht  that  comes  to  me 


272  THE  FA'E  OF  ZEITOON 

for  testing  ?  First  it  was  my  plan  to  arouse  all  Armenia, 
and  to  overthrow  the  Turk.  Armenia  failed  me.  Then 
it  was  my  plan  to  arouse  Zeitoon,  and  to  make  a  stand 
here  to  such  good  purpose  that  all  Armenia  would  rally 
to  us.  Bear  me  witness  whether  Zeitoon  trusted  me  or 
not?  How  much  backing  have  I  had?  Some,  yes;  but 
yours  ? 

"So  it  was  plain  that  if  the  Turks  sent  a  great  army, 
Zeitoon  could  only  hold  out  for  a  little  while,  because 
unanimity  is  lacking.  And  my  spies  report  to  me  that  a 
greater  army  is  on  the  way  than  ever  yet  came  to  the 
rape  of  Armenia.  These  handful  of  hamidieh  that  ye 
think  are  all  there  is  to  be  faced  are  but  the  outflung 
skirmishers.  It  was  plain  to  me  that  Zeitoon  can  not  last. 
So  I  made  a  new  plan,  and  kept  it  secret." 

"Ah-h-h !  So  that  was  the  way  you  took  us  into  con- 
fidence? Always  secrets  behind  secrets,  Kagig!  That  is 
our  complaint !" 

"Listen,  ye  who  would  rather  suspect  than  give  credit !" 
He  used  one  word  in  the  Armenian.  "It  was  my  plan — • 
my  new  plan,  that  seeing  the  Turks  insist  on  giving  us  a 
governor,  and  are  able  to  overwhelm  us  if  we  refuse, 
then  I  would  be  that  governor !" 

"Ah-h-h !  What  did  we  say !  Unable  to  be  king,  you 
will  be  governor !" 

"I  talked  that  over  with  my  new  friend,  and  he  did  not 
agree  with  me,  but  I  prevailed.  Now  hear  my  last  word 
on  this  matter :  I  will  not  be  governor  of  Zeitoon !  I  will 
lead  against  this  army  that  is  coming.  If  you  men  pre- 
yent  me,  or  disobey  me,  or  speak  against  me,  I  will  hang 
you — every  one!  I  will  accept  no  reward,  no  office,  no 
emolument,  no  title — nothing !  Either  I  die  here,  fighting 
for  Zeitoon,  or  I  leave  Zeitoon  when  the  fighting  is  over. 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  273 

and  leave  it  as  I  came  to  it — penniless!  I  give  now  all 
that  I  have  to  give.  I  burn  my  bridges !  I  take  inviolable 
oath  that  I  will  not  profit !  And  by  the  God  who  fed  me 
in  the  wilderness,  I  name  my  price  for  that  and  take  my 
payment  in  advance !  I  will  be  obeyed !  Out  with  you ! 
Get  out  of  here  before  I  slay  you  all !  Go  and  tell  Zeitoon 
who  is  master  here  until  the  fight  is  lost  or  won !" 

He  seized  a  great  firebrand  and  charged  at  them,  beat- 
ing right  and  left,  and  they  backed  away  in  front  of  him, 
protesting  from  under  forearms  raised  to  protect  their 
faces.  He  refused  to  hear  a  word  from  them,  and  drove 
them  back  against  the  door. 

Strange  to  say,  it  was  Rustum  Khan  who  gave  up  all 
further  pretense  at  sleeping  and  ran  round  to  fling  the 
door  open — Rustum  Khan  who  took  part  with  Kagig,  and 
helped  drive  them  out  into  the  dark,  and  Rustum  Khan 
who  stood  astraddle  in  the  doorway,  growling  after  them 
in  Persian — the  only  language  he  knew  thoroughly  that 
they  likely  understood : 

"Bismillah!  Ye  have  heard  a  man  talk!  Now  show 
yourselves  men,  and  obey  him,  or  by  the  beard  of  God's 
])rophet  there  shall  be  war  within  Zeitoon  fiercer  than 
that  without!  Take  counsel  of  your  women-folk !  Ye — " 
(he  used  no  drawing-room  word  to  intimate  their  sex)  — 
"are  too  full  of  thoughts  to  think !" 

Then  he  turned  on  Kagig,  and  held  out  a  lean  brown 
hand.  Kagig  clasped  it,  and  they  met  each  other's  eyes 
a  moment. 

"Am  I  sportman  ?"  Kagig  asked  ingenuously. 

"Brother,"  said  Rustum  Khan,  "next  after  my  colonel 
sahib  I  accept  tiiec  as  a  man  fit  to  fight  beside !" 

We  were  all  standing.  A  free-for-all  fight  had  seemed 
too  likely,  and  we  had  not  known  whether  there  were 


274  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

others  outside  waiting  to  reenforce  the  delegation.  Rus- 
lum  Khan  sought  Monty's  eyes. 

"You  have  the  news,  sahib?" 

Kagig  laughed  sharply,  and  dismissed  the  past  hour 
from  his  mind  with  a  short  sweep  of  the  hand. 

''No.   Tell  me,"  said  Monty. 

"The  gipsy  brought  it.  A  whole  division  of  the  Turk- 
ish regular  army  is  on  the  march.  Their  rear-guard 
camps  to-night  a  day's  march  this  side  of  Tarsus.  Dawn 
will  find  the  main  body  within  sight  of  us.  Half  a  bri- 
gade has  hurried  forward  to  reenforce  the  men  we  have 
just  beaten.  Are  there  any  orders  ?" 

Fred's  face  fell,  and  my  heart  dropped  into  my  boots. 
A  division  is  a  horde  of  men  to  stand  against. 

"No,"  said  Monty.  "No  orders  yet." 

"Then  I  will  sleep  again,"  said  Rustum  Khan,  and 
suited  action  to  the  word,  laying  his  head  on  the  same 
folded  goat-skin  he  had  used  before  and  breathing  deeply 
within  the  minute. 

Nobody  spoke.  Rustum  Khan's  first  deep  snore  had 
not  yet  announced  his  comment  on  the  situation,  and  we 
all  stood  waiting  for  Kagig  to  say  something.  But  it  was 
Peter  ^Measel  who  spoke  first. 

"I  will  pray,"  he  announced.  "I  saw  that  gipsy  whis- 
pering to  the  Indian,  and  I  know  there  is  treachery  in- 
tended !  O  Lord — O  righteous  Lord — forgive  these  peo- 
ple for  their  bloody  and  impudent  plans !  Forgive  them 
for  plotting  to  shed  blood !  Forgive  them  for  arrogance, 
for  ambition,  for  taking  Thy  name  in  vain,  for  drinking 
strong  drink,  for  swearing,  for  vanity,  and  for  all  their 
other  sins.  Forgive  above  all  the  young  woman  of  the 
party,  who  is  not  satisfied  with  a  wound  already  but  looks 


THE' EYE  OF  ZEITOON  275 

forward  with  unwomanly  zest  to  further  fighting !  For- 
give them  for  boasting  and — " 

"Throw  that  fool  out !"  barked  Kagig  suddenly. 

"O  Lord  forgive—" 

Fred  was  nearest  the  door,  and  opened  it.  Maga 
laughed  aloud.  I  was  nearest  to  Peter  Measel,  so  it  was 
I  who  took  him  by  the  neck  and  thrust  him  into  outer 
darkness.  Kagig  kicked  the  door  shut  after  him ;  but  even 
so  we  heard  him  for  several  minutes  grinding  out  con- 
demnatory prayers. 

"Now  sleep,  sportmen  all !"  said  Kagig,  blessing  us 
with  both  hands.  "Sleep  against  the  sport  to-morrow  I" 


"AND  DELILAH  SAID—" 

Ahvays  at  fault  is  the  fellow  betrayed 

(Majorities  murder  to  prove  it!) 

As  Samson  discovered,  Delilah  lies, 

The  stigma's  stuck  on  by  the  cynical  wise. 

And  nothing  can  ever  remove  it. 

We'll  cast  out  Delilah  and  spit  on  her  dead, 

(That  revenge  is  remarkably  human). 

And  pity  the  victim  of  underhand  tricks 

So  be  that  it's  moral  (the  sexes  don't  mix) ; 

But,  oh,  think  what  the  cynical  wise  would  have  said 

If  Judas  were  only  a  woman! 


CHAPTER  SEVENTEEN 
"I  knczi'  what  to  expect  of  the  zvomen!" 

WE  slept  until  Monty  called  us,  two  hours  before 
dawn,  although  I  was  conscious  most  of  the  night 
of  stealthy  men  and  women  who  stepped  over  me  to  get 
at  Kagig  and  whisper  to  him.  His  marvelous  spy  sys- 
tem was  working  full  blast,  and  he  seemed  to  run  no 
risks  by  letting  the  spies  report  to  any  one  but  himself. 
Fred,  who  slept  more  lightly  than  I  did,  told  me  after- 
ward that  the  women  principally  brought  him  particulars 
of  the  workings  of  local  politics ;  the  men  detailed  news 
of  the  oncoming  concrete  enemy. 

There  was  breakfast  served  by  Maga  in  the  dark — hot 
milk,  and  a  strange  mess  of  eggs  and  meat.  For  some 
reason  no  one  thought  of  relighting  the  fire,  and  although 
the  ashes  glowed  we  shivered  until  the  food  put  warmth 
in  us. 

By  the  light  of  the  smoky  lamp  I  thought  that  Monty 
wore  a  strangely  divided  air,  between  gloom  and  exulta- 
tion. Fred  had  been  wide  awake  and  talking  with  him 
since  long  before  first  cock-crow  and  was  obviously  out 
of  sorts,  shaking  his  head  at  intervals  and  unwilling  more 
than  to  poke  at  his  food  with  a  fork.  I  crossed  the  room 
to  sit  beside  them,  and  came  in  for  the  tail  end  of  the 
conversation. 

"I  might  have  known  it,  Didums,  when  I  let  you  go  on 
alone.  I'll  never  forgive  myself.  I  had  a  premonition 
and  disobeyed  it.  You  pose  as  a  cast-iron  materialist 
with  no  more  ambition  than  money  enough  to  retrieve 

277 


278  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

your  damned  estates,  and  all  the  while  you're  the  most 
romantic  ass  who  ever  wore  out  saddle-leather !  Found  it, 
have  you  ?  Then  God  help  us  all !  I  know  what's  com- 
ing! You're  about  to  'vert  back  to  Crusader  days,  and 
try  to  do  damsilly  deeds  of  chivalry  without  the  war- 
horse  or  the  suit  of  mail!" 

"No  need  for  you  to  join  me,  Fred.  You  take  charge 
of  the  others  and  get  them  away  to  safety." 

"Take  charge  of  hornets !  I'd  leave  you,  of  course,  like 
a  shot !  But  can  you  see  Will  Yerkes,  for  instance,  riding 
off  and  leaving  you  to  play  Don  Quixote?  Damn  you, 
Didums,  can't  you  see — ?" 

"Destiny,  Fred.     Manifest  destiny.** 

"Can't  you  see  crusading  is  dead  as  a  dead  horse?" 

"So  am  I,  old  man.  I'm  no  use  but  to  do  this  very 
thing.  I  can  serve  these  people.  If  I'm  killed,  there'll 
be  a  howl  in  the  papers.  If  I'm  taken,  there'll  be  a  row- 
in  parliament." 

"You  don't  intend  to  be  taken — I  know  you !" 

"Honest,  Fred,  I—" 

"Have  I  known  you  all  these  years  to  be  fooled  now  ? 
Smelling  rats  'ud  be  subtle  to  it — I  can  feel  the  air  bris- 
tling !  You  mean  to  raise  the  Montdidier  banner  and  die 
under  it,  last  of  your  race.  But  you're  not  last,  you  bally 
ass!" 

"Last  in  the  direct  line,  Fred." 

"Yes,  but  there's  that  rotter  Charles  ready  to  inherit ! 
If  you're  bent  on  suicide — " 

"I'm  not.    You  know  I'm  not.'* 

" — you  might  have  the  decency  to  kill  that  miserable 
cousin  first  and  bring  the  line  to  an  end  in  common 
honor !    He'll  survive  you,  and  as  sure  as  I  sit  here  and 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  279 

swear  at  you,  he'll  bring  the  Montdidier  name  into  worse 
disgrace  than  Judas  Iscariot's !" 

"I've  no  intention  of  suicide,  Fred.    I  assure  you — " 

But  Fred  waved  the  argument  aside  contemptuously, 
and  stood  up  to  gather  our  attention. 

"Listen !"  He  thrust  forward  his  Van  Dyke  beard  that 
valiantly  strove  to  hide  a  chin  like  a  piece  of  flint.  "Monty 
has  found  the  robbers'  nest  that  used  to  belong  to  his  in- 
fernal ancestors.  I  charge  any  of  you  who  count  your- 
selves his  friends  to  help  me  prevent  him  from  behaving 
like  an  idiot !" 

"That'll  do,  Fred !"  said  Monty,  pressing  him  back 
against  the  wall.  "The  fact  is,"  he  twisted  at  his  black 
mustache  and  eyed  us  each  for  a  second  in  turn,  looking 
as  handsome  as  the  devil,  "that  I  have  found  what  I  orig- 
inally set  out  to  look  for.  It  overlooks  Zeitoon,  hidden 
among  trees.  I  propose  to  use  it.  As  for  quixotism — is 
there  any  one  here  not  willing  to  fight  in  the  last  ditch  to 
help  Kagig  and  these  Armenians  ?" 

"I'm  with  you !"  laughed  Gloria,  and  she  and  Will  had 
a  scuflle  over  near  the  fireplace. 

"I  knew  what  to  expect  of  the  women,"  said  Monty 
rather  bitterly.    "I'm  speaking  to  Fred  and  the  men !" 

"Where's  Peter  Mcascl  ?"  I  asked.  But  the  others  did 
not  see  the  connection. 

"Come  along,"  said  Monty.  "Seems  to  me  we're 
wasting  time,"  and  he  strode  out  through  the  window  on 
to  the  roof  of  the  house  below — usually  the  shortest  way 
from  point  to  point  in  Zeitoon.  Kagig  followed  him, 
and  then  Rustum  Khan.  The  stars  were  no  longer  shin- 
ing in  the  pale  sky  overhead,  but  it  was  dark  where  we 
were  because  of  the  mountains  that  shut  out  the  dawn. 


280  JHE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

Fred  came  last,  grumbling  and  stumbling,  too  disturbed 
to  look  where  he  was  going. 

"Fancy  me  acting  Cassandra  at  my  time  of  life  and 
none  to  believe  me!"  he  muttered.  Then,  louder:  "I 
warn  you  all !  I  know  that  fellow  Monty.  If  he  comes 
out  of  this  alive  it'll  be  because  we  haul  him  out  by  the 
hair !  Won't  you  listen  ?" 

Outside  the  window  I  remembered  the  field-glasses  I 
had  laid  down  in  a  corner,  and  returned  to  get  them.  In 
the  room  were  !Maga  and  the  woman  Anna,  who  had  ap- 
pointed herself  Gloria  Vanderman's  maid;  they  were 
apparently  about  to  sweep  the  floor  and  tidy  the  place, 
but  as  I  crossed  the  room  an  older  gipsy  woman  entered 
by  the  door,  and  she  and  Maga  promptly  drove  Anna  out 
through  the  window  after  my  party.  Then  the  old  woman 
came  close  to  me,  her  beady  bright  eyes  fixed  on  mine, 
and  went  through  the  suggestive  gipsy  motions  that  in- 
vite the  crossing  of  a  palm  with  silver. 

There  seemed  at  first  no  excuse  for  listening  to  her. 
Every  gipsy  will  beg,  whether  there  is  need  or  not,  and 
knowledge  of  their  habits  did  not  make  me  less  short- 
tempered  ;  besides  I  had  no  silver  within  reach,  nor  time 
to  waste. 

"Not  now !"  I  said,  pushing  her  aside. 

But  Maga  came  to  her  rescue,  and  clutched  my  arm. 

"See !"  she  said,  and  took  a  Maria  Theresa  dollar  from 
some  hiding-place  in  her  skirt.  "I  give  silver  for  you. 
So."  The  old  hag  pouched  the  coin  with  exactly  the 
same  avidity  with  which  she  would  have  taken  it  from 
me.  "Now  she  will  make  magic.  Then  I  see.  Then  I 
tell  you  something.     You  listen !" 

It  began  to  dawn  on  me  that  I  would  better  listen  after 
all.    Every  human  is  superstitious,  whether  or  not  he  ad- 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  281 

mits  it  to  himself;  but  the  particular  fraud  of  pretend- 
ing to  tell  fortunes  never  did  happen  to  find  the  joint  in 
my  own  armor.  It  seemed  likely  these  two  women  had 
some  plan  that  included  the  preliminary  deception  of  my- 
self, and  the  sooner  I  knew  something  about  it  the  better. 
So  I  sat  down  on  Kagig's  stool,  to  give  them  a  better 
opinion  of  their  advantage  over  me,  there  being  nothing 
like  making  the  enemy  too  confident.  Then  I  held  out  the 
palm  of  my  hand  for  inspection  and  tried  to  look  like  a 
man  pretending  he  does  not  believe  in  magic.  Whatever 
Maga  thought,  the  old  hag  was  delighted.  She  began  to 
croak  an  incantation,  shuffling  first  with  one  foot,  then 
with  the  other,  and  finally  with  both  together  in  a  weird 
dance  that  almost  shook  her  old  frame  apart.  Then  she 
went  through  a  pantomime  of  finger-pointing,  as  if  trans- 
ferring from  herself  to  Maga  the  gift  of  divining  about 
me. 

Presently,  standing  a  little  to  one  side  of  me,  with  eyes 
on  the  old  hag's  and  my  hand  held  between  her  two, 
Maga  began  chanting  in  English.  The  fact  that  her 
voice  was  musical  and  low  where  the  hag's  had  been 
high-pitched  and  rasping  heightened  interest,  if  noth- 
ing else. 

"You  now  four  men,"  she  began,  with  a  little  pause, 
and  something  like  a  swallow  between  each  sentence. 
"You  all  love  one  another  ver*  much.  You  all  like 
Kagig.  Kagig  is  liking  you.  But  Turks  are  coming 
presently,  and  they  keel  Kagig — keel  hoem,  you  under- 
stan'?  That  man  Monty  is  also  keel — keel  dead.  That 
man  Fred — I  not  know — I  not  sec.  You  I  see — you  I 
see  two  ways.  First  way,  you  marry  that  woman  Gloria 
— you  go  away — all  well — all  good.  Second  way — you 
not  marry  her.     Tiicn  you  all  die — dam'  ([uick — Monty, 


282  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

Fred,  Will,  you,  Gloria,  everybody — an'  Zeitoon  is  all 
burn'  up  by  bloody  Turks!" 

She  paused  and  looked  at  me  sidewise  under  lowered 
eyelids.  I  stared  straight  in  front  of  me,  as  if  in  the 
state  of  self -hypnotism  that  is  the  fortune-teller's  happy 
hunting-ground. 

"You  understan'?'* 

"Yes,"  I  said.  "I  think  I  see.  But  how  shall  I  marry 
Miss  Gloria  ?    Suppose  she  does  not  want  me  ?" 

"You  must !  Never  mind  what  she  want !  Listen ! 
This  is  only  way  to  save  your  f rien's  and  Zeitoon !  I  am 
giving  men — four — five — six  men.  They  are  seizing 
Gloria.  You  go  with  them.  They  take  you  safe  away. 
Then  Zeitoon  is  also  safe,  an'  3'our  frien's  are  also  safe." 

"Monty,  too?"  I  asked. 

"Yes,  then  he  is  also  safe."  But — I  felt  her  hands 
tremble  slightly  as  she  said  that. 

"Do  you  mean  I  should  leave  him?"  I  asked, 

"You  must!  You  must!"  She  almost  screamed  at 
me,  and  shook  my  hand  between  her  two  palms  as  if  by 
that  means  to  drive  the  fact  into  my  consciousness.  The 
old  hag  had  her  eyes  fixed  on  my  right  temple  as  if  she 
would  burn  a  hole  there,  and  between  them  they  were 
making  a  better  than  amateur  effort  to  control  me  by 
suggestion.  It  seemed  wise  to  help  them  deceive  them- 
selves. Maga  let  go  my  hand  gently,  and  began  passing 
her  ten  fingers  very  softly  through  my  hair,  and  there  are 
other  men  who  will  bear  me  witness  that  there  exists  sen- 
sation less  appealing  than  when  a  pretty  girl  does  that. 

"You  must !"  she  said  again  more  quietly.  "That  is 
the  only  way  to  save  Zeitoon.    God  is  angry." 

"What  do  you  know  about  God  ?"  I  asked  unguardedly. 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  283 

knowing  well  that  whatever  their  open  pretenses,  gipsies 
despise  all  religion  except  diabolism.  They  study  creeds 
for  the  sake  of  plunder,  just  as  hunters  study  the  habits 
of  the  wild. 

"Maybe  nothing — maybe  much!  Peter  IMeasel,  he 
say—" 

She  paused,  as  if  in  doubt  whether  she  was  using  the 
right  argument.  And  in  that  moment  I  recalled  what 
Rustum  Khan  had  once  said  about  her  being  no  true 

gipsy. 

"Go  on,"  I  urged  her,  "Peter  Mcasel  is  an  expert. 
He's  a  high  priest.    He  knows  it  all." 

"Peter  Measel  is  saying,  God  is  ver'  angry  with  Zeitoon 
and  is  sending  to  destroy  such  bloody  people  what  plan 
fighting  and  rebellion." 

"I'll  think  it  over,"  I  said,  moving  to  get  up.  But  in- 
dependent thinking  was  the  last  thing  that  Maga  intended 
to  permit  me. 

"No,  no !  No,  no,  no !  You  must  dee-cide  now — at 
once !  There  is  no  time.  Now — now  I  give  you  five — 
six  mens — now  they  seize  that  woman  Gloria — now  you 
carry  'er  away  into  the  mountains — now  you  make  'cr 
yours — your  own,  you  understan',  so  as  she  is  ashamed 
to  deny  it  afterward — yes? — you  see?" 

"Where  are  the  men  ?"  I  demanded. 

"I  fetch  them  quick  !" 

I  could  see  the  hilt  of  her  knife,  and  the  bulge  of  her 
repeating  pistol,  but  I  could  also  feel  the  weight  of  my 
own  loaded  Colt  against  my  hip.  I  did  not  doubt  I  could 
escape  before  her  men  could  arrive  on  the  scene,  but  that 
would  have  been  to  leave  some  secret  only  part  uncov- 
ered.    There    was   obviously   more   behind   this    scheme 


2S4  THE  EYE  Ol;  ZEITOON 

than  met  the  ear.  It  is  my  experience  that  if  we  throw 
fear  to  the  winds,  and  are  willing  to  wait  in  tight  places 
for  the  necessary  inspiration,  then  we  get  it. 

"Very  well,"  I  said.     "I  agree.     Bring  your  men." 

"You  wait.    I  get  'em." 

I  nodded,  and  she  said  something  in  the  gipsy  language 
to  the  old  hag,  who  went  out  through  the  door  in  a 
hurry.  Alone  with  Maga  I  felt  less  than  half  as  safe  as 
I  had  been.  She  proceeded  to  make  use  of  every  moment 
in  the  manner  they  say  makes  millionaires. 

"Gloria,  she  is  ver'  nice  girl !"  She  made  a  wonder- 
ful gesture  of  both  hands  that  limned  in  empty  air  the 
curves  of  her  detested  rival.  "You  will  love  her.  By- 
and-by  she  love  you — also  ver'  much." 

The  thought  flashed  through  my  head  again  that  I 
ought  to  escape  whole  while  I  had  the  chance;  but  the 
answer  to  that  was  the  certainty  that  she  would  thence- 
forward be  on  guard  against  me  without  having  given 
me  any  real  information.  I  w^as  perfectly  convinced  there 
was  a  deep  plot  underlying  the  foolishness  she  had  pro- 
posed. The  fact  that  she  considered  me  so  venial  and  so 
gullible  was  no  proof  that  the  hidden  purpose  was  not 
dangerous.  The  mystery  was  how  to  seem  to  be  fooled 
by  her  and  yet  get  in  touch  with  my  friends.  Then  sud- 
denly I  recalled  that  she  and  the  hag  had  been  trying  to 
use  the  gipsy's  black  art.  Unless  they  can  trick  their  vic- 
tim into  a  mental  condition  in  which  innate  superstition 
becomes  uppermost,  players  of  that  dark  game  are  help- 
less. 

Yet  gipsies  are  more  superstitious  than  any  one  else. 
Hanging  to  her  neck  by  a  skein  of  plaited  horse-hair  v/as 
the  polished  shell  of  a  minute  turtle — smaller  than  a 
dollar  piece. 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  285 

"Give  me  that,"  I  said,  "for  luck,"  and  she  jumped  at 
the  idea. 

"Yes,  yes — that  is  to  bring  you  luck — ver'  much  luck !" 

She  snatched  it  off  and  hung  it  around  my  neck,  push- 
ing the  turtle-shell  down  under  my  collar  out  of  sight. 

"That  is  love-token!"  she  whispered.  "Now  she  love 
you  immediate' !    Now  you  'ave  ver'  much  luck !" 

The  last  part  of  her  prophecy  was  true.  The  luck 
seemed  to  change.  That  instant  the  key  was  given  me  to 
escape  without  making  her  my  relentless  enemy,  a  voice 
that  I  would  know  among  a  million  began  shouting  for 
me  petulantly  from  somewhere  half  a  dozen  roofs  away. 

"What  in  hell's  keeping  you,  man  ?  Here's  Monty  get- 
ting up  a  tourist  party  to  his  damned  ancestral  nest  and 
you're  delaying  the  whole  shebang !  Good  lord  alive ! 
Have  you  fallen  in  love  with  a  woman,  or  taken  the 
belly-ache,  or  fallen  down  a  well,  or  gone  to  sleep  again, 
or  all  of  them,  or  what?" 

"Coming,  Fred!"  I  shouted.    "Coming!" 

"You'd  better!" 

He  began  playing  cat-calls  on  his  concertina — imitation 
bugle-calls,  and  fragments  of  serenades.  For  a  second 
Maga  looked  reckless — then  suspicious — then,  as  it  be- 
gan to  dawn  on  her  from  studying  my  face  that  I,  too, 
was  afraid  of  Fred,  relieved. 

"Does  he  know  anything?"  I  asked  her. 

"He?  That  Frrrcd?  No!  No,  no,  no!  An'  you  no 
tell  'im.  You  'ear  me?  You  no  tell  'im !  You  go  now 
— go  to  'im,  or  else  'c  is  get  suspicious — undcrstan'?  My 
men — they  go  an'  get  that  woman.  When  they  finish 
getting  that  woman,  then  I  send  for  you  an'  you  come 
quick — undcrstan'  ?" 

I  nodded. 


2S6  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

"Listen!  If  you  tell  your  fricn's — if  you  tell  that 
Frrred,  or  those  others — then  I  not  only  keel  you,  but 
my  men  put  out  your  eyes  first  an'  then  pull  off  your  toes 
an'  fingers — understan'  ?" 

I  shrugged  my  shoulders,  suggesting  an  attempt  to  seem 
at  ease. 

"Besides — I  warn  you!  You  tell  Kagig  anything 
against  me  an'  Kagig  is  at  once  your  enemy  I" 

I  nodded,  and  tried  to  look  afraid.  Perhaps  the  spec- 
ulation that  the  last  boast  started  in  my  mind  helped 
give  me  a  look  that  convinced  her. 

Fred  began  calling  again. 

"You  go  1"  she  ordered  imperiously,  v^ith  a  last  effort 
to  impress  me  with  her  mental  predominance.  "Go 
quickly!" 

I  made  motions  of  hand  and  face  as  nearly  suggestive 
of  underhanded  cunning  as  I  could  compass,  and  climbed 
out  through  the  window  without  further  invitation.  See- 
ing me  emerge,  Fred  beckoned  from  fifty  yards  away  and 
turned  his  back.  Morning  was  just  beginning  to  de- 
scend into  the  valley,  suddenly  bright  from  having  fin- 
ished all  the  dawn  delays  among  the  crags  higher  up; 
but  there  were  deep  shadows  here  and  there,  especially 
where  one  roof  overhung  another. 

Jumping  from  roof  to  roof  to  follow  Fred,  I  was  sud- 
denly brought  up  short  by  a  figure  in  shadow  that  ges- 
ticulated wildly  without  speaking.  It  was  below  me,  in 
a  narrow,  shallow  runway  between  two  houses,  and  I 
had  been  so  impressed  by  my  interview  with  Maga  that 
assassination  was  the  first  thought  ready  to  mind.  I 
sprang  aside  and  tried  to  check  myself,  missed  footing, 
and  fell  into  the  very  runway  I  had  tried  to  avoid. 

A    friend    unmistakable,    Anna — Gloria's    self-consti- 


JHE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  287 

tuted  maid — ran  out  of  the  darkest  shadow  and  kept  me 
from  scranibhng  to  my  feet. 

"Wait !"  she  whispered.  "Don't  be  seen  talking  to  me. 
Listen!" 

]\Iy  ankle  pained  considerably  and  I  was  out  of  breath. 
I  was  willing  enough  to  lie  there. 

"^laga  has  made  a  plot  to  betray  Zeitoon!  She  has 
been  talking  with  that  Turkish  colonel  who  was  captured. 
I  don't  know  what  the  plot  is,  but  I  listened  through  a 
chink  in  the  wall  of  the  prison,  and  I  heard  him  promise 
tliat  she  should  have  Will  Yerkes !" 

"What  else  did  you  hear  ?" 

"Nothing  else.  There  was  wind  whistling,  and  the 
straw  made  a  noise." 

At  that  moment  Fred  chose  to  turn  his  head  to  see 
whether  I  was  following.  Not  seeing  me,  he  came  back 
over  the  roofs,  shouting  to  know  what  had  happened.  I 
got  to  my  feet  but,  although  he  hardly  looks  the  part, 
he  is  as  active  as  a  boy,  and  he  had  scrambled  to  a 
higher  roof  that  commanded  a  view  of  my  runway  be- 
fore my  twisted  ankle  would  permit  me  to  escape. 

"So  that's  it,  eh  ?  A  woman  !" 

"Keep  an  eye  on  Miss  Gloria!"  I  whispered  to  Anna, 
and  she  ducked  and  ran. 

If  I  had  had  presence  of  mind  I  would  have  accepted 
the  insinuation,  and  turned  the  joke  on  Fred.  Instead, 
I  denied  it  hotly  like  a  fool,  and  nothing  could  have  fed 
the  fires  of  his  sj^irit  of  raillery  more  surely. 

"I've  unearthed  a  plot,"  I  began,  limpitig  along  beside 
him. 

"No,  sir!   It  was  I  who  unearthc<l  the  two  of  you!" 

"See  here,  Fred—" 

"Look?   I'd  be  ashamed!   No,  no — I  wasn't  looking!" 


288  THE  F.YE  OF  ZEITOON 

"Fred,  I'm  serious!" 

"Entanglements  with  women  are  always  serious !" 

"I  tell  you,  that  girl  ]\faga — " 

"Two  of  'em,  eh?  Worser  and  worser!  You'll  have 
Will  jealous  into  the  bargain  !" 

"Have  it  your  own  way,  then !"  I  said,  savage  witli 
pain  (and  the  reasons  he  did  not  hesitate  to  assign  to 
my  strained  ankle  were  simply  scandalous).  "I'll  wait 
until  I  find  a  man  w^ith  honest  ears." 

"Try  Kagig !"  he  advised  me  dryl}'. 

And  Kagig  I  did  try.  We  came  on  him  at  our  end 
of  the  bridge  that  overhung  the  Jihun  River.  Our  party 
were  waiting  on  the  far  side,  and  Fred  hurried  over  to 
join  them.  Kagig  was  listening  to  the  reports  of  a  dozen 
men,  and  while  I  waited  to  get  his  ear  I  could  see  Fred 
telling  his  great  joke  to  the  party.  It  was  easy  to  see 
that  Gloria  Vanderman  did  not  enjoy  the  joke ;  nor  did  I 
blame  her.  I  did  not  blame  her  for  sending  word  there 
and  then  to  Anna  that  her  services  would  not  be  required 
any  more. 

As  soon  as  Kagig  saw  me  he  dismissed  the  other  men 
in  various  directions  and  made  to  start  across  the  bridge. 
I  called  to  him  to  wait,  and  walked  beside  him. 

"I've  uncovered  a  plot,  Kagig,"  I  began.  "Maga: 
Jhaere  has  been  talking  with  the  Turkish  prisoner." 

"I  know  it.    I  sent  her  to  talk  with  him !" 

"She  has  bargained  with  him  to  betray  Zeitoon !" 

For  answer  to  that  Kagig  turned  his  head  and  stared 
sharply  at  me — then  went  off  into  peals  of  diabolic  laugh- 
ter. He  had  not  a  word  to  offer.  He  simply  utterly,  ab- 
solutely, unqualifiedly  disbelieved  me — or  else  chose  to 
have  it  appear  so. 


AXD  HE  WHO  WOULD  SrVVE  HIS  LIFE  SHALL 
LOSE  IT 

The  fed  fools  beat  their  brazen  gong 
For  gods'  cars  dulled  by  blatant  praise, 
Azi'ondcr  why  the  scented  fumes 
And  stirplices  at  evensong 
Avail  7iot  as  in  other  days. 
Shrunken  and  mean  the  spirit  fails 
Like  old  snow  falling  from  the  crags 
And  priest  and  pcdagog  compete 
With  nostrums  for  the  age  that  ails. 
But  learn  not  xi'hy  the  spirit  lags. 
Tuneless  and  dull  the  loose  lyre  thrums 
Ill-plucked  by  fingers  strange  to  skill 
That  change  and  change  the  fever'd  chords. 
But  still  no  inspiration  comes 
Though  priest  and  pundit  labor  still. 
Lust-urged  iJie  clamoring  clans  denounce 
IV  hat  e'er  their  sires  agreed  zvas  good. 
And  sii'ift  on  faith  and  fair  return 
With  lies  the  feud-leaders  pounce 
Lest  Truth  deprive  them  of  their  food. 
Dog  eateth  dog  and  none  gives  thanks; 
All  crave  the  fare,  but  grudge  the  price 
Their  nobler  forbears  proudly  paid, 
That  notv  for  moonstruck  madness  ranks  — 
The  only  true  coin — Sacrifice! 


CHArTER  EIGHTEEN 
*'Per  terrain  ct  oqiiain." 

THE  man  who  is  a  hero  to  himself  perhaps  exists, 
but  the  surface  indications  are  no  proof  of  it.  I 
don't  pretend  to  be  satisfied,  and  made  no  pretense  at 
the  time  of  being  satisfied  with  my  share  in  Maga's 
treachery.  But  I  claim  that  it  was  more  than  human  na- 
ture could  have  done,  to  endure  the  open  disapproval  of 
my  friends,  begun  by  Fred's  half-earnest  jest,  and  con- 
tinued by  my  own  indignation ;  and  at  the  same  time  to 
induce  them  to  take  my  warning  seriously. 

Will  avoided  me,  and  walked  with  Gloria,  who  made 
no  particular  secret  of  her  disgust.  Fred  naturally 
enough  kept  the  joke  going,  to  save  himself  from  being 
tripped  in  his  own  net.  He  had  probably  persuaded  him- 
self by  that  time  that  the  accusation  was  true,  and  there- 
fore equally  probably  regretted  having  made  it;  for  he 
would  have  been  the  last  man  in  the  world  to  give  tongue 
about  an  offense  that  he  really  believed  a  friend  of  his 
had  committed. 

Monty,  who  believed  from  force  of  habit  every  single 
word  Fred  said,  walked  beside  me  and  was  good  enough 
to  give  me  fatherly  advice. 

"Not  the  time,  you  know,  to  fool  with  women.  I  don't 
pretend,  of  course,  to  any  right  to  judge  your  private 
conduct,  but — you  can  be  so  awfully  useful,  you  know, 
and  all  that  kind  of  thing,  when  you're  paying  strict  at- 
tention.   Women  distract  a  man." 

All  things  considered,  I  might  have  done  worse  than 
290 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  291 

decide  to  say  no  more  about  the  plot,  but  to  keep  my  o\\ii 
eyes  wide  open.  (I  was  particularly  sore  with  Gloria, 
and  derived  much  unwise  consolation  from  considering 
stinging  remarks  I  would  make  to  her  when  the  actual 
truth  should  out.) 

}kIonty  began  making  the  best  of  my,  in  his  eyes,  dam- 
r.ged  character  by  explaining  the  general  dispositions  he 
and  Kagig  had  made  for  the  defense  of  Zeitoon. 

"According  to  my  view  of  it,"  he  said,  "this  bridge 
we've  just  crossed  is  the  weakest  point — or  was.  I  think 
we  can  hold  that  clay  ramp  you  came  up  yesterday  against 
all  comers.  But  there's  a  way  round  the  back  of  this 
mountain  that  leads  to  the  dismantled  fort  you  see  on 
this  side  of  the  river.  That  is  the  fort  built  by  the  Turk- 
ish soldiers  whom  Kagig  told  us  the  women  of  Zeitoon 
threw  one  by  one  over  the  bridge." 

He  stopped  (we  had  climbed  about  two  hundred  feet 
of  a  fairly  steep  track  leading  up  the  flank  of  Beirut 
Dagh)  and  let  the  others  gather  around  us. 

"You  see,  if  the  enemy  can  once  establish  a  footing  on 
this  hill,  they'll  then  command  the  whole  of  Zeitoon  op- 
])osite  with  rifle  fire,  even  if  they  don't  succeed  in  bring- 
ing artillery  round  the  mountain." 

Between  us  and  Zeitoon  there  now  lay  a  deep,  sheer- 
sidcfl  gash,  down  at  the  bottom  of  which  the  Jihua 
brawled  and  boiled.  I  did  not  envy  any  army  faced  with 
tlic  task  of  crossing  it,  even  supposing  the  bridge  should 
not  be  destroyed.  But  they  would  not  need  to  cross  in 
order  to  make  the  town  untenable. 

"The  Zeitoonli  are,  you  might  say,  superstitious  about 
that  l)ridgc,"  MoiUy  went  on.  "They  refuse  as  much  as 
to  consider  making  arrangements  to  blow  it  up  in  case 
of  need.     Another  remarkable  thing  is  that  the  women 


292  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

claim  the  bridge  defense  as  their  privilege.  That  doesn't 
matter.  They  look  like  a  crowd  of  last-ditch  fighters, 
and  we're  awfully  short  of  men.  But  we're  almost 
equally  short  of  ammunition ;  and  if  it  ever  gets  to  the 
point  where  we're  driven  in  so  that  we  have  to  hold  that 
bridge,  we  shall  be  doling  out  cartridges  one  by  one  to 
the  best  shots !  I  have  tried  to  persuade  the  women  to 
leave  the  bridge  until  there's  need  of  defending  it,  and  to 
lend  us  a  hand  elsewhere  meanwhile ;  but  they've  always 
held  the  bridge,  and  they  propose  to  do  the  same  again. 
Even  Kagig  can't  shift  them,  although  the  women  have 
been  his  chief  supporters  all  along." 

Fred  interrupted,  pointing  toward  a  few  acres  of  level 
land  to  our  left,  below  Zeitoon  village  but  still  consid- 
erably above  the  river  level. 

"Is  that  Rustum  Khan  ?" 

*'He  it  is,"  said  Kagig.  "A  devil  of  a  man — a  wonder 
of  a  devil — no  friend  of  mine,  yet  I  shook  hands  with 
him  and  I  salute  him !  A  genius !  A  cavalryman  bom. 
Our  people  are  not  cavalrymen.  No  place  for  horses, 
this.  Yet,  as  you  have  seen,  there  are  some  of  us  who 
can  ride,  and  that  Rustum  Khan  found  many  others — ■ 
refugees  from  this  and  that  place.  See  how  he  drills 
them  yonder — see!  It  was  the  gift  of  God  that  so  many 
horses  fell  into  our  hands.  Some  of  the  refugees  brought 
horses  along  for  food.  Instead,  Rustum  Khan  took  men's 
corn  away,  to  feed  the  hungry  horses !" 

"We  could  never  have  held  the  place  without  Rustum 
Khan,"  said  Monty.  "As  it  is  we've  a  chance.  The  last 
thing  the  Turks  will  expect  from  us  is  mounted  tactics. 
Allowing  for  plenty  of  spare  horses,  we  shall  have  two 
full  squadrons — one  under  Rustum  Khan,  and  one  I'll 
lead  myself.  From  all  accounts  they're  bringing  an  awful 


JHE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  293 

number  of  men  against  us,  and  we  expect  them  to  try  to 
force  the  clay  ramp.   In  that  case — but  come  and  see." 

He  led  on  up-hill,  and  after  a  few  minutes  the  well- 
worn  track  disappeared,  giving  place  to  a  newly  cleared 
one.  Trees  had  been  cut  down  roughly,  leaving  stumps 
in  such  irregular  profusion  that,  though  horses  could 
pass  between  them  easily,  no  wheeled  traffic  could  have 
gone  that  way.  The  undergrowth  and  the  tree-trunks  had 
been  piled  along  either  side,  so  that  the  new  path  was 
fenced  in.  It  was  steep  and  crooked,  every  section  of  it 
commanded  by  some  other  section  higher  up,  with  plenty 
of  crags  and  boulders  that  afforded  even  better  cover 
than  the  trees. 

"Discovered  this  the  first  day  I  got  here,"  said  Monty. 
"Asked  about  bears,  and  a  man  offered  to  show  me  where 
a  dozen  of  them  lived.  I  was  curious  to  see  where  a 
dozen  bears  could  live  in  amity  together — didn't  believe 
a  word  of  it.  We  set  out  that  afternoon,  and  didn't  reach 
the  top  until  midnight.  Worst  climb  I  ever  experienced. 
J-ost  ourselves  a  hundred  times.  Next  day,  however, 
Kagig  agreed  to  let  mc  have  as  many  men  as  could  be 
crowded  together  to  work,  and  I  took  a  hundred  and 
twenty.  Set  them  to  cutting  this  trail  and  another  one. 
They  worked  like  beavers.    But  come  along  and  look." 

"I low  about  the  bears?"  Fred  demanded.  "Did  you 
get  them  ?" 

"Smelt  'em.  Saw  one — or  saw  his  shadow,  and  heard 
liini.  Followed  him  u]i-liill  hy  the  smell,  and  so  found  the 
castle  wall.   Haven't  seen  a  bear  since." 

"Ilssh!"  said  Kagig,  and  sprang  up-hill  ahead  of  us  to 
take  the  lead.  "There  are  guards  above  there,  and  they 
are  true  Zcitoonli — they  will  shoot  dam'  quick  !" 

They  did  not  shoot,  because  we  all  lay  in  the  t-hadow 


294  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

of  a  great  rock  as  soon  as  we  could  see  a  ragged  stone 
^vall  uplifted  against  the  purple  sky,  and  Kagig  whistled 
half  a  dozen  times.  We  plainly  heard  the  snap  of  breech- 
blocks being  tested. 

"They  are  weary  of  talking  fight !"  Kagig  whispered. 

But  the  sixth  or  seventh  whistle  was  answered  by  a 
shout,  and  we  began  to  climb  again.  Close  to  the  castle 
Ihe  tree-cutters  had  been  able  to  follow  the  line  of  the 
original  road  fairly  closely,  and  there  were  places  under- 
foot that  actually  seemed  to  have  been  paved.  Finally 
we  reached  a  steep  ramp  of  cemented  stone  blocks,  not 
one  of  which  w^as  out  of  place,  and  went  up  that  toward 
an  arch — clear,  unmistakable,  round  Roman  that  had 
once  been  closed  by  a  portcullis  and  an  oak  gate.  All 
of  the  woodwork  had  long  ago  disappeared,  but  there 
was  little  the  matter  with  the  masonry. 

Under  the  echoing  arch  we  strode  into  a  shadowy 
courtyard  where  the  sun  had  not  penetrated  long  enough 
to  warm  the  stones.  In  the  midst  of  it  a  great  stone  keep 
stood  as  grim  and  almost  as  undecayed  as  when  Cru- 
saders last  defended  it.  That  castle  had  never  been  built 
by  Crusaders ;  they  had  found  it  standing  there,  and  had 
added  to  it,  Norman  on  to  Roman. 

The  courtyard  was  littered  with  weeds  that  Kagig's 
men  had  slashed  down,  and  here  and  there  a  tree  had 
found  root  room  and  forced  its  way  up  between  the  rough- 
hewn  paving  stones.  Animals  had  laired  in  the  place, 
and  had  left  their  smell  there  together  with  an  air  of 
wilderness.  But  now  a  new-old  smell,  and  new-old 
sounds  were  awakening  the  past.  There  were  horses 
again  in  the  stables,  whose  roof  formed  the  fighting 
platform  behind  the  rampart  of  the  outer  wall. 

IMonty  led  the  way  to  the  old  arched  entrance  of  the 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  295 

keep,  and  pointed  upward  to  a  spot  above  the  arch  where 
some  one  had  been  scraping  and  scrubbing  away  the 
stains  of  time.  There,  clean  white  now  in  the  midst  of 
rusty  stonework,  was  a  carved  device — shield-shaped — > 
two  ships  and  two  wheat-sheaves ;  and  underneath  on  a 
scroll  the  motto  in  Latin — Per  terrain  et  aqtiam — By  land 
and  sea — in  token  that  the  old  Montdidiers  held  them- 
selves willing  to  do  duty  on  either  element.  The  same 
device  and  the  same  motto  were  on  the  gold  signet  ring 
on  Monty's  little  finger. 

"\\'hat's  happening  on  top  of  the  keep?"  demanded 
Will. 

Fred  laughed  aloud.  We  could  not  see  up  from  inside,, 
for  at  least  one  of  the  stone  floors  remained  intact. 

"Can't  you  guess?"  demanded  Fred.  "Didn't  I  tell  you 
the  man  has  *verted  to  Crusader  days  ?" 

But  Monty  explained, 

"There's  an  old  stone  socket  up  there  that  used  to  hold 
the  flag-pole.  Two  or  three  fellows  have  been  kind 
enough  to  haul  a  tree  up  tliere,  and  they're  trimming  it 
to  fit." 

"If  we  were  wise  we'd  hang  you  to  it,  Didums,  and 
save  you  from  a  lousy  Turkish  jail !" 

"Thank  you,  Fred,"  Monty  answered.  "There  are 
capitulations  still,  I  fancy.  No  Turk  can  legall}'-  try  me, 
or  imprison  me  a  minute.  I'm  answerable  to  the  British 
consul." 

"They're  fine,  legal-minded  sticklers  for  the  rules,  the 
Turks  arc !"  Fred  retorted. 

"But  we've  a  net  laid  for  the  Turks !"  smiled  Monty. 

Fred  shook  his  head.  Monty  led  the  way  toward  stone 
Etcps,  who've  treads  had  been  worn  into  smooth  hollows 
centuries  before  by  the  feet  of  men  in  armor. 


296  JHE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

Up  above  on  the  outer  rampart  we  could  see  Kagig's 
sentries  outlined  against  the  sky,  protected  against  the 
chilly  mountain  air  by  goat-skin  outer  garments  and 
pointed  goat-skin  hats.  We  mounted  the  stone  stair,  hold- 
ing to  a  baluster  worn  smooth  by  the  rub  of  countless 
forgotten  hands,  as  perfect  yet  as  on  the  day  when  the 
masons  pronounced  it  finished  ;  and  emerged  on  to  a  wide 
stone  floor  above  the  stables,  guarded  by  a  breast-high 
parapet  pierced  by  slits  for  archers. 

From  below  the  breathing  of  the  pines  came  up  to  us, 
peculiarly  audible  in  spite  of  the  Titan  roar  of  Jihun 
Iviver.  Immediately  below  us  was  a  ledge  of  forest- 
covered  rock,  and  beyond  that  we  could  see  sheer  dowA 
the  tree-draped  flank  of  Beirut  Dagh  to  the  foaming 
water.  We  leaned  our  elbows  on  the  parapet,  and  stared 
in  silence  all  in  a  row,  stared  at  in  turn  by  the  more  than 
half-suspicious  sentries. 

"How  does  it  feel,  old  man,"  asked  Will  at  last,  "stand- 
ing on  ramparts  where  your  ancestors  once  ruled  the 
roost  ?" 

"Stranger  than  perhaps  you  think,"  Monty  answered, 
not  looking  to  right  or  left,  or  downward,  but  away  out 
in  front  of  him  toward  the  sky-line  on  top  of  the  oppo- 
site hills. 

"I  bet  I  know,"  said  Will.  "You  hate  to  see  the  old 
order  passing.  You'd  like  the  old  times  back." 

"You're  wrong  for  once,  America !"  Monty  turned  his 
back  on  the  parapet  and  the  view,  and  with  hands  thrust 
deep  down  in  his  pockets  sought  for  words  that  could 
explain  a  little  of  his  inner  man.  Fred  had  perhaps  seen 
that  mood  before,  but  none  of  the  rest  of  us.  Usually  he 
would  talk  of  anything  except  his  feelings.  He  felt  the 
difficulty  now,  and  checked. 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  29;^ 

"How  so?"  demanded  Will. 

"I've  watched  the  old  order  passing.  I'm  part  of  it. 
I'm  passing,  too." 

Gloria  watched  him  with  melting  eyes,  Fred  turned 
his  back  and  went  through  the  fruitless  rigmarole  of 
trying  to  appear  indifferent,  going  to  the  usual  length  at 
last  of  humming  through  his  nose. 

"That's  what  I  said.  You'd  like  these  castle  days  back 
again." 

"You're  wrong,  Will.  I  pray  they  never  may  come 
back.  The  place  is  an  anachronism.  So  am  I ! — useless 
for  most  modern  purposes.  You'd  have  to  tear  castle  or 
;me  so  to  pieces  that  we'd  be  unrecognizable.  The  world 
is  going  forward,  and  I'm  glad  of  it.  It  shall  have  no 
hindrance  at  my  hands." 

"If  men  were  all  like  you — "  began  Gloria,  but  he 
checked  her  with  a  frown. 

"You  can  call  this  castle  a  robbers'  nest,  if  you  like. 
It's  easy  to  call  names.  It  stood  for  the  best  men  knew 
in  those  days — protection  of  the  countryside,  such  law 
and  order  as  men  understood,  and  the  open  road.  It  was 
built  primarily  to  keep  the  roads  safe.  There  are  lots  of 
things  in  England  and  America  to-day.  Will,  that  your 
descendants  (being  fools)  will  sneer  at,  just  as  it's  the 
fashion  to-day  to  sneer  at  relics  of  the  past  like  this — 
and  me!" 

"Who's  sneering?  Not  I !   Not  we!" 

"This  castle  was  built  for  the  sake  of  the  country- 
side. I've  a  mind  to  see  it  end  as  it  began — that's  all." 

"Aw — what's  eating  you,  Monty?" 

"Shut  up  croaking,  you  old  raven  !"  grumbled  Fred. 
"Show  us  the  view  you  promised.  This  isn't  it,  for  there 
isn't  a  Turk  in  sight." 


298  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

Monty  knew  better  than  mistake  Fred's  surliness  for 
anything  but  friendship  in  distress.  Without  another 
word  he  led  the  way  along  the  parapet  toward  a  ragged 
tower  at  the  southern  corner.  It  had  been  built  by  Nor- 
mans, evidently  added  to  the  earlier  Roman  wall. 

"Now  tell  me  if  the  old  folk  didn't  know  their  busi- 
ness," said  IMonty,  "Very  careful,  all!  The  steps  inside 
are  rough.  The  roof  has  fallen  in,  and  the  ragged  upper 
edge  that's  left  probably  accounts  for  the  castle  remain- 
ing undetected  from  below  all  these  years — looks  like 
fangs  of  discolored  rock." 

We  followed  him  through  the  doorless  gap  in  the  tower 
Avail,  and  up  broken  stone  stairs  littered  witli  fragments 
of  the  fallen  roof,  until  we  stood  at  last  in  a  half-circle 
around  the  jagged  rim,  our  feet  wedged  between  rotten 
masonry,  breasts  against  the  saw-edge  parapet,  and  heads 
on  a  level  with  the  eagles.  From  that  dizzy  height  we 
had  a  full  view  between  the  mountains,  not  only  of  the 
immediate  environs  of  Zeitoon,  but  of  most  of  the  pass 
up  which  we  ourselves  had  come,  and  of  some  of  the 
open  land  beyond  it. 

"D'you  see  Turks  now  ?" 

Monty  pointed,  but  there  was  no  need.  Dense  masses 
of  men  were  bivouacked  beyond  the  bottom  of  the  wide 
clay  ramp.  Through  the  glasses  I  could  see  artillery  and 
supply  wagons.  They  were  coming  to  make  a  thorough 
job  of  "rescuing"  Zeitoon  this  time !  After  a  while  I  was 
able  to  make  out  the  dark  irregular  line  of  Kagig's  men, 
and  here  and  there  the  lighter  color  of  freshly  dug  en- 
trenchments. None  of  Zeitoon's  defenders  appeared  to 
be  thrown  out  beyond  the  clay  ramp,  but  they  evidently 
flanked  it  on  the  side  of  the  pass  that  was  farthest 
from  us. 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  299 

"Now  look  this  way,  and  you'll  understand." 

Monty  pointed  to  our  right,  and  the  significance  of  the 
voices  we  had  heard  so  close  to  us  when  Fred  was  search- 
ing for  a  path  around  the  clay  on  the  morning  of  our 
arrival,  was  made  plain  instantly.  Down  from  the  ledge 
on  which  the  castle  stood  to  a  point  apparently  within  a 
few  yards  of  the  clay  ramp  there  had  been  cut  a  winding 
swath  through  the  forest,  along  which  four  horses  abreast 
could  be  ridden,  or  as  many  men  marched. 

"How  did  you  do  all  that  in  time?"  demanded  Will. 
"It  looks  like  one  of  those  contractor's  jobs  in  the  States 
— put  through  while  you  wait  and  to  hell  with  every- 
thing!" 

"It  follows  the  old  road,"  Monty  answered.  "There 
was  too  much  cobble-paving  for  the  trees  to  take  hold, 
and  most  of  what  they  had  to  cut  was  small  stuff.  That 
accounts,  too,  for  the  freedom  from  stumps.  But,  do  you 
get  the  idea?  The  trees  between  the  end  of  the  cutting 
and  the  clay  ramp  are  cut  almost  through — ready  to  fall, 
in  fact.  I'm  afraid  of  a  wind.  If  it  blows,  our  screen 
may  fall  too  soon!  But  if  the  Turks  try  to  storm  the 
ramp,  we'll  draw  them  on.  Then,  hey-presto!  Down 
go  the  remaining  trees,  and  into  the  middle  of  'em  rides 
our  cavalry!" 

"What's  the  use  of  cavalry  four  abreast?'*  demanded 
Fred,  in  no  mood  to  be  satisfied  with  anything. 

"Rustum  Khan  is  concentrating  all  his  energy  on 
teaching  that  one  maneuver,"  Monty  answered.  "We 
come — " 

"Thought  it  'ud  be  *wc !'  Your  place  is  at  the  rear, 
giving  orders!" 

"Wc  come  down  the  track  at  top  speed,  and  the  im- 
petus will  carry  us  clear  across  t!ie  ramp.     Some  of  the 


300  ,TIIE  F.YE  OF  ZEITOON 

horses'll  go  down,  because  the  slope  is  slippery.  But  the 
remainder  will  front  form  squadron,  and  charge  down- 
hill in  line.    Then  watch !" 

"All  right,"  Fred  grumbled.  "But  how  about  your 
rear  while  all  that's  going  on?  The  Turk  must  have 
worked  his  way  around  Beirut  Dagh  on  former  occasions 
— or  how  else  could  he  ever  have  built  and  held  that  dis- 
mantled fort  ?  What's  to  stop  him  from  doing  it  again  ?" 

"It's  a  fifteen-mile  fight  ahead  of  him,"  Monty  an- 
swered, "with  riflemen  posted  at  every  vantage-point  all 
the  way." 

"Who  is  in  charge  of  the  riflemen?" 

Kagig  leaned  back  until  he  looked  in  danger  of  falling, 
and  tapped  his  breast  significantly  three  times. 

"I — I  have  picked  the  men  who  will  command  those 
riflemen  and  women !" 

"Well,"  Fred  grumbled,  "what  are  your  plans  for  us?" 

"For  the  last  time,  Fred,  I  want  you,  old  man,  to  help 
me  to  persuade  these  others  to  escape  into  the  hills  while 
there's  still  a  chance,  and  I  want  you  to  go  with  them." 

"I  also !"  exclaimed  Kagig,    "I  also  desire  that  1" 

"Now  you've  got  that  off  your  chest,  Didums,  suppose 
you  talk  sense,"  suggested  Fred.    "What  are  your  plans?" 

Mont>'  recognized  the  unalterable,  and  set  his  face. 

"You  first,  Miss  Vanderman.  There's  one  way  in 
which  we  can  always  use  a  gentlewoman's  services." 

"Mayn't  I  fight  ?"  she  begged,  and  we  all  laughed. 

"  'Fraid  not.  No.  The  women  have  cleared  out  sev- 
eral houses  for  a  hospital.    Please  go  and  superintend." 

"Damn !"  exclaimed  Gloria,  Boston  fashion,  not  in  the 
least  under  her  breath. 

"I  am  sending  word,"  said  Kagig,  "that  they  shall  obey 
you  or  learn  from  me!" 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  301 

"Tlie  rest  of  us,"  Monty  went  on,  "will  know  better 
what  to  do  when  we  know  what  the  Turk  intends,  but  I 
expect  to  send  all  of  you  from  time  to  time  to  wherever 
the  fighting  is  thickest.  Kagig,  of  course,  will  please  him- 
self, and  my  orders  are  subject  to  his  approval." 

"I'll  go,  then,"  said  Gloria.  "Good-by!"  And  she 
kissed  Will  on  the  mouth  in  full  view  of  all  of  us,  he 
blushing  furiously,  and  Kagig  cracking  all  his  finger- 
joints. 

"Go  with  her.  Will !"  urged  Monty,  as  she  disappeared 
down  the  steps.  "Go  and  save  yourself.  You're  young. 
I've  notions  of  my  own  that  I've  inherited,  and  the  world 
calls  me  a  back  number.    You  go  with  Miss  Vanderman !" 

I  seconded  that  motion. 

"Go  with  her,  Will!  I've  warned  you  she's  misafe 
alone !    Go  and  protect  her !" 

Will  grinned,  wholly  without  malice. 

"Thanks !"  he  said.  "She's  a  back  number,  too.  So'm 
I !  If  I  left  Monty  in  this  pinch  she'd  never  look  at  me, 
and  I'd  not  ask  her  to!  Inherited  notions  about  merit 
and  all  that  kind  of  thing,  don't  you  know,  by  gosh!  No, 
sir!  She  and  I  both  sat  into  this  game.  She  and  I  both 
stay!  Wish  Esau  would  open  the  ball,  though.  I'm 
tired  of  talking." 


ICH  DIEN 

Is  honor  out  of  fashion  and  the  men  she  named 

Fit  only  to  be  buried  and  defamed 

Who  dared  hold  service  zvas  true  nobleness 

And  graced  their  service  in  a  fitting  dress f 

Are  manners  out  of  date  because  tJie  scullions  scoff 

At  whosoever  shuns  the  common  trough 

Liking  dry  bread  better  than  the  garbled  steza^ 

Nor  praising  greed  because  the  style  is  new? 

Let  go  the  ancient  orders  if  so  be  their  zvays 

Are  trespassing  on  decency  these  days. 

So  I  go,  rather  than  accept  the  trampled  spoil 

Or  gamble  for  what  great  men  earned  by  toil. 

For  rather  than  trade  honor  for  a  mob's  foul  praise 

ril  keep  full  fealty  to  the  ancient  ways 

And,  hoisting  my  forebear's  banner  in  the 

face  of  hell, 
Will  die  beneath  it,  knowing  I  die  well! 


CHAPTER  NINETEEN 
"Such  drilUng  as  they  have  had — such  little  drilling!" 

FIFTEEN  minutes  after  Gloria  Vanderman  left  us 
I  saw  a  banner  go  jerkily  mounting  up  the  newly 
placed  flag-pole  on  the  keep.  A  man  blew  a  bugle 
hairsel}'  by  way  of  a  salute.  I  raised  my  hat.  Monty 
raised  his.  In  a  moment  we  were  all  standing  bare- 
headed, and  the  great  square  piece  of  cloth  caught  the 
wind  that  whistled  between  two  crags  of  Beirut  Dagh. 

Fred,  our  arch-iconoclast,  stood  uncovered  longest. 

"Who  the  devil  made  it  for  you?"  he  inquired. 

Stitched  on  the  banner  in  colored  cloth  were  the  two 
wheat-sheaves  and  two  ships  of  the  Montdidiers,  and  a 
scroll  stretched  its  length  across  the  bottom,  with  the 
motto  doubtless,  although  in  the  wind  one  could  not 
read  it. 

"The  women.  Good  of  'em,  what?  ^liss  Vanderman 
drew  it  on  paper.  They  cut  it  out,  and  sat  up  last  night 
sewing  it." 

"I  suppose  you  know  that's  filibustering,  to  fly  your 
private  banner  on  foreign  soil  ?" 

"They  may  call  it  what  they  please,"  said  Monty.  "I 
can't  well  fly  the  flag  of  England,  and  Armenia  has  none 
yet.    Let's  go  below,  Fred,  and  see  if  there's  any  news." 

"Yes,  there  is  news,"  said  Kagig,  leading  the  way 
down.  "I  did  not  say  it  before  the  lady.  It  is  not  good 
news." 

"That's  the  only  kind  that  won't  keep.  Spit  it  out!" 
said  Will. 

303 


30*  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

Kagig  faced  us  on  the  stable  roof,  and  his  finger-Joints 
cracked  again. 

"It  is  the  worst!  They  have  sent  Mahmoud  Bey 
against  us.  I  would  rather  any  six  other  Turks.  Mah- 
moud Bey  is  not  a  fool.  He  is  a  young  successful  man, 
who  looks  to  this  campaign  to  bolster  his  ambition.  He 
is  a  ruthless  brute!" 

"Which  Turk  isn't?"  asked  Will. 

"This  one  is  most  ruthless.  This  Mahmoud  is  the  one 
who  in  the  massacres  of  five  years  ago  caused  Armenian 
prisoners  to  have  horse-shoes  nailed  to  their  naked  feet, 
in  order,  he  said,  that  they  might  march  without  hurt. 
He  will  waste  no  time  about  preliminaries !" 

Kagig  was  entirely  right.  Mahmoud  Bey  began  thei 
overture  that  very  instant  with  artillery  fire  directed  at 
the  hidden  defenses  flanking  the  clay  ramp.  Next  w6 
caught  the  stuttering  chorus  of  his  machine  guns,  and 
the  intermittent  answer  of  Kagig's  riflemen. 

"Now,  cffendim,  one  of  you  down  to  the  defenses, 
please!  There  is  risk  my  men  may  use  too  many  car- 
tridges. Talk  to  them — restrain  them.  They  might  lis- 
ten to  me,  but — "  His  long  fingers  suggested  unhappy 
fragiuents  of  past  histor}% 

"You,  Fred!"  said  Monty,  and  Fred  hitched  his  con- 
certina to  a  more  comfortable  angle. 

Fred  was  the  obvious  choice.  His  gift  of  tongues 
would  enable  him  better  than  any  of  us  to  persuade,  and 
if  need  were,  compel.  We  had  left  our  rifles  leaning  by 
the  wall  at  the  castle  entrance,  and  in  his  cartridge  bag 
was  my  oil-can  and  rag-bag.  I  asked  him  for  them,  and 
he  threw  them  to  me  rather  clumsily.  Trying  to  catch 
them  I  twisted  for  the  second  time  the  ankle  I  had  hurt 
that  morning.    Fred  mounted  and  rode  out  through  the 


'     "  -THE' EYE  OF  ZEITOON  305 

echoing  entrance  without  a  backward  glance,  and  I  sat 
down  and  pulled  my  boot  off,  for  the  agony  was  almost 
unendurable. 

"That  settles  your  task  for  to-day,"  laughed  Monty. 
"Help  him  back  to  the  top  of  the  tower,  Will.  Keep  me 
informed  of  everything  you  see.  Will — you  go  with 
Kagig  after  you've  helped  him  up  there." 

"All  right,"  said  Will.     "Where's  Kagig  bound  for?" 

"Round  behind  Beirut  Dagh,"  Kagig  announced  grimly. 
"That's  our  danger-point.  If  the  Turks  force  their  way 
round  the  mountain — "  He  shrugged  his  expressive 
shoulders.  Only  he  of  all  of  us  seemed  to  view  the  sit- 
uation seriously.  I  think  we  others  felt  a  thrill  rather  of 
sport  than  of  danger. 

I  might  have  been  inclined  to  resent  the  inactivity  as- 
signed to  me,  only  that  it  gave  me  a  better  chance  than  I 
had  hoped  for  of  watching  for  signs  of  Maga  Jhaere's 
promised  treachery.  Will  helped  me  up  and  made  the 
perch  comfortable;  then  he  and  Kagig  rode  away  to- 
gether. Presently  Monty,  too,  mounted  a  mule,  and  rode 
out .  under  the  arch,  and  fifteen  minutes  later  fifty 
men  marched  in  by  twos,  laughing  and  joking,  and  went 
to  saddling  the  horses  in  the  semicircular  stable  below 
me.  After  that  all  the  world  seemed  to  grow  still  for 
a  while,  except  for  the  eagles,  the  distant  rag-slitting  rat- 
tle of  rifle-fire,  and  the  occasional  bursting  of  a  shell. 
Most  of  the  shells  were  falling  on  the  clay  ramp,  and 
seemed  to  be  doing  no  harm  whatever. 

Away  in  the  distance  down  the  pass,  out  of  range  of 
the  fire  of  our  men,  but  also  incapable  of  harm  them- 
selves until  they  should  advance  into  the  open  jaws  be- 
low the  clay  ramp,  T  could  see  the  Turks  massing  in  that 
sort  of  dense  formation  that  the  Germans  teach.     Even 


306  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

through  the  glasses  it  was  not  possible  to  guess  their 
numbers,  because  the  angle  of  vision  was  narrow  and 
cut  off  their  flanks  to  right  and  left;  but  I  sent  word 
down  to  Monty  that  a  frontal  attack  in  force  seemed  to 
be  already  beginning. 

For  an  hour  after  that,  while  the  artillery  fire  in- 
creased but  our  rifle-fire  seemed  to  dwindle  under  Fred's 
persuasive  tongue,  I  watched  Monty  mustering  reenforce- 
ments  in  the  gorge  below  the  town.  He  overcame  some 
of  the  women's  prejudice,  for  it  was  a  force  made  up  of 
men  and  women  that  he  presently  led  away.  I  was  rather 
surprised  to  see  Rustum  Khan,  after  a  talk  with  Monty, 
return  to  his  squadron  and  remain  inactive  under  cover 
of  the  hill ;  that  fire-eater  was  the  last  man  one  would 
expect  to  remain  willingly  out  of  action. 

However,  twenty  minutes  later,  Rustum  Khan  ap- 
peared beside  me,  breathing  rather  hard.  He  begged  the 
glasses  of  me,  and  spent  five  minutes  studying  the  firing- 
line  minutely  before  returning  them. 

"The  lord  sahib  has  more  faith  in  these  undrilled  folk 
than  I  have!"  he  grumbled  at  last.  "Observe:  he  goes 
with  that  bullet- food  of  men  and  women  mixed,  to  hide 
them  in  reserve  behind  the  narrow  gut  at  the  head  of  the 
ramp.  The  Turks  are  fools,  as  Kagig  said,  and  their 
general  is  also  a  fool,  in  spite  of  Kagig.  They  propose 
to  force  that  ramp.  You  see  that  by  Frredd  sahib's  or- 
ders the  firing  on  our  side  has  grown  greatly  less.  That 
is  to  draw  the  Turks  on.  See !  It  has  drawn  them !  They 
are  coming!  The  lord  sahib  will  send  for  Frredd  sahib 
to  take  command  of  that  reserve,  to  man  the  top  of  the 
ramp  in  case  the  Turks  succeed  in  climbing  too  far  up 
it.  Then  he  himself  will  gallop  back  to  take  charge  of 
my   squadron  below  there;   and   I  take   charge   of   his 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  307 

squadron  up  here.  He  and  I  are  interchangeable,  I  hav- 
ing drilled  all  the  men  in  any  case — such  drilling  as  they 
have  had — such  little,  little  drilling!" 

The  Turks  began  their  advance  into  the  jaws  of  that 
defile  with  a  confidence  that  made  my  heart  turn  cold. 
What  did  they  know?  What  were  they  depending  on 
in  addition  to  their  weight  of  numbers?  Mahmoud  Bey 
had  evidently  hurried  up  almost  his  whole  division,  and 
was  driving  them  forward  into  our  trap  as  if  he  knew 
he  could  swallow  trap  and  all.  Not  even  foolish  generals 
act  that  way.  It  needs  a  madman.  Kagig  had  said  noth- 
ing about  Mahmoud  being  mad. 

"Listen,  Rustum  Khan!"  I  said.  "Go  with  a  mes- 
sage to  Lord  Montdidier.  Tell  him  the  whole  Turkish 
force  is  in  motion  and  coming  on  as  if  their  general 
knows  something  for  certain  that  we  don't  know  at  all. 
Tell  him  that  I  suspect  treachery  at  our  rear,  and  have 
good  reason  for  it !" 

Rustum  Khan  eyed  me  for  a  minute  as  if  he  would 
read  the  very  middle  of  my  heart. 

"Can  you  ride?"  he  asked. 

"Of  course,"  I  answered.  "It's  only  walking  that  I 
can't  do." 

"Then  leave  those  glasses  with  me,  and  go  yourself  !'* 

"Why  won't  you  go  ?"  I  asked. 

"Because  here  are  fifty  men  who  would  lack  a  leader 
in  that  case." 

The  answer  was  honest  enough,  yet  I  had  my  qualms 
about  leaving  the  post  Monty  had  assigned  to  me.  The 
thought  that  finally  decided  mc  was  that  I  would  have 
opportunity  to  gallop  past  the  hospital,  two  hundred  yards 
over  the  bridge  on  the  Zeitoon  side,  and  make  sure  that 
Gloria  was  safe. 


308  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

"Have  you  seen  Maga  Jhaere  anywhere?"  I  asked. 

"No,"  said  the  Rajput,  swearing  under  his  breath  at 
the  mere  mention  of  her  name. 

"Then  help  me  down  from  here.    I'll  go." 

He  muttered  to  himself,  and  I  think  he  thought  I  was 
oft*  to  make  love  to  the  woman ;  but  I  was  past  caring 
about  any  one's  opinion  on  that  score.  Five  minutes 
later  I  was  trotting  a  good  horse  slowly  down  the  upper, 
steeper  portion  of  the  track  toward  Zeitoon,  swearing 
to  myself,  and  dreading  the  smoother  going  where  I 
should  feel  compelled  to  gallop  whether  my  ankle  hurt 
or  not.  As  a  matter  of  fact  I  began  to  suspect  a  broken 
bone  or  ligament,  for  the  agonizing  pain  increased  and 
made  me  sit  awkwardly  on  the  horse,  thus  causing  him 
to  change  his  pace  at  odd  intervals  and  give  me  more 
pain  yet. 

However,  gallop  I  had  to,  and  I  reached  the  bridge 
going  at  top  speed,  only  to  be  forced  to  rein  in,  chat- 
tering with  agony,  by  a  man  on  foot  who  raced  to  reach 
the  bridge  ahead  of  me,  and  made  unmistakable  signals 
of  having  an  important  message  to  deliver. 

He  proved  to  be  from  Kagig,  with  orders  to  say  that 
every  man  at  his  disposal  was  engaged  by  a  very  strong 
body  of  Turks  who  had  spent  the  night  creeping  up  close 
to  their  first  objective,  and  had  rushed  it  with  the  bay- 
onet shortly  after  dawn. 

"Order  the  women  to  stand  ready  by  the  bridge!" 
were  the  last  words  (the  man  had  the  whole  by  heart), 
and  then  there  was  a  scribbled  note  from  Will  by  way 
of  make- weight. 

"This  end  of  the  action  looks  pretty  serious  to  me. 
We're  badly  outnumbered.    The  men  are  fighting  gamely, 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  309 

but  —  tell  Gloria  for  God's  sake  to  look  out  after  her- 
self!" 

I  could  hear  no  firing  from  that  direction,  for  the  great 
bulk  of  Beirut  Dagh  shut  it  off. 

"How  far  away  is  the  fighting?"  I  demanded. 

"Oh,  a  long  way  yet." 

I  motioned  to  him  to  return  to  Kagig,  and  sent  my 
horse  across  the  bridge,  catching  sight  of  Gloria  out- 
side the  hospital  directly  after  I  had  crossed  it.  She 
waved  her  hand  to  me ;  so,  seeing  she  was  safe  for 
the  present,  I  let  the  message  to  her  wait  and  started 
down  the  valley  toward  Monty  as  fast  as  the  horse 
could  go.  I  had  my  work  cut  out  to  drive  him  into  the 
din  of  firing,  for  it  was  evidently  his  first  experience  of 
bursting  shells,  and  even  at  half-a-mile  distance  he 
reared  and  plunged,  driving  me  nearly  crazy  with  pain. 
I  found  Monty  shei)herding  the  reserves  he  had  brought 
down,  watching  through  glasses  from  over  the  top  of  the 
spur  that  formed  the  left-hand  wall  of  the  gut  of  the 
pass. 

"I  left  Rustum  Khan  in  my  place,"  I  began,  expecting 
to  be  damned  at  once  for  absenting  without  leave.    "I — " 

"Glad  you  came,"  he  said,  without  turning  his  head. 

I  gave  him  my  message,  he  listening  while  he  watched 
the  pass  and  the  oncoming  enemy. 

"I  tried  to  warn  you  of  treachery  this  morning!"  I  said 
hotly.  Pain  and  memory  did  nothing  toward  keeping 
down  cholcr.  "Where's  Peter  Mcasel?  Seen  him  any- 
where? Where's  Maga  Jhaere?  Seen  her,  either? 
Those  Turks  arc  coming  on  into  what  they  must  know  is 
a  trap,  with  the  confidence  that  proves  their  leaders  have 
special  information!   Look  at  them!    They  can  sec  tliis 


310  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

pass  is  lined  with  our  riflemen,  yet  on  they  come !  They 
must  suspect  we've  a  surprise  in  store — ^yet  look  at 
them!" 

They  were  coming  on  line  after  line,  although  Fred 
had  turned  the  ammunition  loose,  and  the  rifle-fire  of  our 
well-hidden  men  was  playing  havoc.  Monty  seemed  to 
me  to  look  more  puzzled  than  afraid.  I  went  on  telling 
him  of  the  message  Kagig  had  sent,  and  offered  him 
Will's  note,  but  he  did  not  even  look  at  it. 

"Ah!"  he  said  suddenly.  "Now  I  understand!  Yes, 
it's  treachery.  I  beg  your  pardon  for  my  thoughts  this 
morning." 

"Granted,"  said  I,  "but  what  next  ?" 

"Look  1"  he  said  simply. 

There  were  two  sudden  developments.  What  was  left 
of  the  first  advancing  company  of  Turks  halted  below  the 
ramp,  and  with  sublime  effrontery,  born  no  doubt  of 
knowledge  that  we  had  no  artillery,  proceeded  to  dig 
themselves  a  shallow  trench.  The  Zeitoonli  were  making 
splendid  shooting,  but  it  was  only  a  question  of  minutes 
until  the  shelter  would  be  high  enough  for  crouching 
men. 

The  second  disturbing  factor  was  that  in  a  long  line 
extending  up  the  flank  of  the  mountain,  roughly  parallel 
to  the  lower  end  of  the  track  that  Monty  had  caused  to 
be  cut  from  the  castle,  the  trees  were  coming  down  as  if 
struck  by  a  cyclone!  There  must  have  been  more  than 
a  regiment  armed  with  axes,  cutting  a  swath  through  the 
forest  to  take  our  secret  road  in  flank ! 

That  meant  two  things  clearly.  Some  one  had  told 
Mahmoud  of  our  plan  to  charge  down  from  the  height 
and  surprise  him,  thus  robbing  us  of  all  the  benefit  of 
unexpectedness ;  and,  when  the  charge  should  take  place. 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  311 

our  men  would  have  to  ride  down  four  abreast  through 
ambush.  And,  if  Mahmoud  had  merely  intended  placing 
a  few  men  to  trap  our  horsemen,  he  would  never  have 
troubled  to  cut  down  the  forest.  Plainly,  he  meant  to  de- 
stroy our  mounted  men  at  point-blank  range,  and  then 
march  a  large  force  up  the  horse-track,  so  turning  the  ta- 
bles on  us.  Considering  the  overwhelming  numbers  he 
had  at  his  disposal,  the  game  to  me  looked  almost  over. 

Not  so,  however,  to  !Monty.  He  glanced  over  his  shoul- 
der once  at  the  men  and  women  waiting  for  his  orders, 
and  I  saw  the  women  begin  inspiriting  their  men.  Then 
he  turned  on  me. 

"Now  damn  your  ankle,"  he  said.  "Try  to  forget  it ! 
Climb  up  there  and  tell  Fred  to  choose  a  hundred  men 
and  bring  them  down  himself  to  oppose  the  enemy  in 
front  if  he  comes  over  the  top  of  that  ditch.  Then  you 
gallop  back  and  get  word  to  Rustum  Khan  to  bring  both 
squadrons  down  here.  Tell  him  to  stay  by  Fred  and  hold 
his  horses  until  the  last  minute.  Then  you  get  all  the 
women  you  can  persuade  to  follow  you,  and  man  the 
castle  walls!     Hurry,  now — that's  all!" 

There  was  a  man  holding  my  horse.  I  tied  the  horse 
securely  to  a  tree  instead,  and  told  the  man  to  help  me 
climb,  little  susj^ecting  what  a  Samson  I  had  happened 
on.  He  laughed,  seized  me  in  his  arms,  and  proceeded 
to  carry  me  like  a  baby  up  the  goat-track  leading  to  the 
hidden  rifle-pits  and  trenches.  I  persuaded  him  to  let 
me  get  up  on  his  shoulders,  and  in  that  way  I  had  a  view 
of  most  of  what  was  happening. 

MoiUy  led  his  men  and  women  at  a  run  across  the  top 
of  the  ramp  flanked  by  the  full  fire  of  the  entrenched 
comjMiiy  below  ;  and  his  action  was  so  unexpected  that 
the  Turks  fired  like  beginners.     There  were  not  many 


312  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

bodies  lying  quiet,  nor  writhing  either  when  the  last 
woman  had  disappeared  among  the  trees  on  the  far  side. 
Those  that  did  writhe  were  very  swiftly  caused  to  cease 
by  volleys  aimed  at  them  in  obedience  to  officers'  orders. 
It  began  to  look  as  if  Gloria's  hospital  would  not  be  over- 
worked. 

The  tables  were  now  turned  on  the  Turks,  except  in 
regard  to  numbers.  In  the  first  place,  as  soon  as  Monty's 
command  had  penetrated  downward  through  the  trees 
parallel  with  the  side  of  the  ramp,  he  had  the  entrenched 
company  in  flank.  It  did  not  seem  to  me  that  he  left 
more  than  ten  or  fifteen  men  to  make  that  trench  un- 
tenable, but  the  Turks  were  out  of  it  within  five  minutes 
and  in  full  retreat  under  a  hot  fire  from  Fred's  men. 

Then  Monty  pushed  on  to  the  far  side  of  the  castle 
road  and  held  the  remaining  fringe  of  trees  in  such  fash- 
ion that  the  Turks  could  not  guess  his  exact  whereabouts 
nor  what  number  he  had  v/ith  him.  Cutting  down  trees 
in  a  hurry  is  one  thing,  but  cutting  them  down  in  face 
of  hidden  rifle-fire  is  most  decidedly  another,  especially 
when  the  axmen  have  been  promised  there  will  be  no 
reprisals. 

The  tree-felling  suddenly  ceased,  and  there  began  2L 
close-quarters  battle  in  the  woods,  in  which  numbers  had 
less  effect  than  knowledge  of  the  ground  and  bravery. 
The  Turk  is  a  brave  enough  fighter,  but  not  to  be  com- 
pared with  mountain-Armenians  fighting  for  their  home, 
and  it  was  easy  to  judge  which  held  the  upper  hand. 

I  found  Fred  smoking  his  pipe  and  enjoying  himself 
hugely,  with  half  a  dozen  runners  ready  to  carry  word  to 
whichever  section  of  the  defenses  seemed  to  him  to  need 
counsel.  He  could  see  what  Monty  had  done,  and  was  in 
great  spirits  in  consequence. 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  313 

"I've  bagged  two  Turk  officers  to  my  own  gun,"  he  an- 
nounced.   "Murder  suits  me  to  a  T." 

I  gave  him  the  message. 

"Piffie  !"  he  answered.  "They  can  never  take  the  ramp 
by  frontal  attack !  The  right  thing  to  do  is  hold  the 
flanks,  and  wither  'em  as  they  come !" 

"Monty's  orders  !"  I  said,  "and  I've  got  to  be  going." 

"Damn  that  fellow  Didums  !"  he  grumbled.  "All  right. 
But  it's  my  belief  he's  turning  a  classy  little  engagement 
into  a  bloody  brawl!  Cut  along!  I'll  pick  my  hundred 
and  climb  down  there." 

Cutting  along  was  not  so  easy.  ]\Iy  magnificent  human 
mount  was  hit  by  a  bullet — a  stray  one,  probably,  shot 
at  a  hazard  at  long  range.  He  fell  and  threw  me  head- 
long ;  and  the  agony  of  that  experience  pretty  nearly  ren- 
dered me  unconscious.  However,  he  was  not  hit  badly, 
and  essayed  to  pick  me  up  again.  I  refused  that,  but  he 
held  on  to  me  and,  both  of  us  being  hurt  in  the  leg  on  the 
same  side,  we  staggered  together  down  the  goat-track. 

Down  below  we  found  the  horse  plunging  in  a  frenzy 
of  fear,  and  he  nearly  succeeded  iiT  breaking  away  from 
both  of  us,  dragging  us  out  into  full  view  of  the  enemy, 
who  volleyed  us  at  long  range.  Fortunately  they  made 
rotten  shooting,  and  one  ill-directed  hail  of  lead  screamed 
on  the  far  side,  causing  the  horse  to  plunge  toward  me. 
The  Armenian  took  me  by  the  uninjured  foot  and  flung 
me  into  the  saddle,  and  I  left  up-pass  with  a  parting  vol- 
ley scattering  all  around,  and  both  hands  locked  into  the 
horse's  mane.  He  needed  neither  whip  nor  spur,  but 
went  for  Zcitoon  like  the  devil  with  his  tail  on  fire. 

I  suppose  one  never  grows  really  used  to  ]\iin,  but 
from  use  it  becomes  endurable.  When  Anna  ran  out  to 
stop  nic  by  liie  gre.it  rock  on  which  the  lowest  Zcitoon 


314  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

houses  stand,  and  seized  me  by  the  foot,  partly  to  show 
deference,  partly  in  token  that  she  was  suppliant,  and  also 
partly  because  she  was  utterly  distracted,  I  was  able  to 
rein  the  horse  and  listen  to  her  without  swearing. 

"She  is  gone !"  she  shouted.  "Gone,  I  tell  you !  Gloria 
is  gone !  Six  men,  they  come  and  take  her !  She  is  resist- 
ing, oh,  so  hard — and  they  throw  a  sack  over  her — and 
she  is  gone,  I  tell  you !  She  is  gone !" 

"Where  is  Maga?" 

"Gone,  too!" 

"In  which  direction  did  they  take  Miss  Gloria?" 

"I  do  not  know !" 

I  rode  on.  There  were  crowds  of  women  near  the 
bridge,  all  armed  with  rifles,  and  I  hurried  toward  them. 

But  they  refused  to  believe  that  any  one  in  Zeitoon 
would  do  such  a  thing  as  kidnap  Gloria,  and  while  I 
waited  for  Anna  to  come  and  convince  them  a  man 
forced  himself  toward  me  through  the  crowd.  He  was 
out  of  breath.  One  arm  was  in  a  bloody  bandage,  but  in 
the  other  hand  he  held  a  stained  and  crumpled  letter. 

It  proved  to  be  from  Will,  addressed  to  all  or  any 
of  us. 

"Kagig  is  a  wonder !"  it  ran.  "He  has  put  new  life  into 
these  men  and  we've  thrashed  the  Turk  soundly.  How's 
Gloria?  Kagig  says,  'Can  you  send  us  reenforcements?* 
If  so  we  can  follow  up  and  do  some  real  damage.  Send 
'em  quick !  Make  Gloria  keep  cover !  Will/' 


THOU  LAND  OF  THE  GLAD  HAND 

Thou  land  of  the  Glad  Hand,  whose  frequent  boast 

Is  of  the  hordes  to  whom  thou  play  est  host! 

IV hose  liberty  is  full!  zvhose  standard  high 

Has  reached  and  taken  stars  from  out  the  sky! 

Whose  fair-faced  ivomen  tread  the  streets  unveiled, 

Ujichallenged,  ttnaffronted,  unassailed! 

J V hose  little  ones  in  park  and  meadozv  laugh, 

Nor  knoiv  what  cost  that  precious  cup  they  quaff, 

Nor  pay  in  stripes  and  bruises  and  regret 

Ten  times  each  total  of  a  parent's  debt! 

Thou  nation  born  in  freedom — land  of  kings 

Whose  lazi's  protect  the  very  feathered  things. 

Uplifting  last  and  least  to  high  estate 

That  none  be  overlooked — and  none  too  great! 

Is  all  thy  freedom  good  for  thee  alone? 

Is  earth  thy  footstool?  Arc  the  clouds  thy  throne? 

Shall  other  peoples  reach  thy  hand  to  take 

That  gladdens  only  thee  for  thine  oivn  sake? 


CHAPTER  TWENTY 

"So  fctv  against  so  viany!    I  sec  death,  and  I  am  not 
sorry!" 

TO  get  word  to  Rustum  Khan  was  simple  enough, 
for  he  himself  came  riding  down  to  get  news.  The 
minute  he  learned  what  Monty  wanted  of  him  he  turned 
his  horse  back  up-hill  at  a  steady  lope,  and  I  began  on 
the  next  item  in  the  program. 

Nor  was  that  difficult.  The  reading  aloud  of  Will's 
letter,  translated  to  them  by  Anna,  convinced  the  women 
that  their  beloved  bridge  was  in  no  immediate  danger, 
and  no  less  than  three  hundred  of  them  marched  off  to 
reenforce  Kagig's  men  behind  Beirut  Dagh.  I  reckoned 
that  by  the  time  they  reached  the  scene  of  action  we 
would  have  a  few  more  than  three  thousand  men  and 
women  in  the  field  under  arms — against  Mahmoud  Bey's 
thirty  thousand  Turks ! 

There  remained  to  scrape  together  as  many  as  possible 
to  man  the  castle  walls ;  and  what  with  wounded,  and 
middle-aged  women,  and  men  whose  weapons  did  not  fit 
the  plundered  Turkish  ammunition,  I  had  more  than  a 
hundred  volunteers  in  no  time.  The  only  disturbing  fea- 
ture about  this  new  command  of  mine  was  that  it  con- 
tained more  than  a  sprinkling  of  the  type  of  malcontents 
who  had  bearded  Kagig  in  his  den  the  night  before. 
Those  looked  like  thoroughly  excellent  fighting  men,  if 
only  they  could  have  been  persuaded  to  agree  to  trust 
a  common  leader. 

Not  one  of  them  but  knew  a  thousand  times  more  of 
Zeitoon,  and  their  people,  and  the  various  needs  of  de- 

316 


'THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  317 

fense  than,  for  instance,  I  did.  Yet  they  clustered  about 
me  for  lack  of  confidence  in  one  another,  and  shouted 
after  the  women  who  marched  away  advice  to  watch 
lest  Kagig  betray  them  all.  Not  for  nothing  had  the  un- 
speakable Turk  inculcated  theories  of  misrule  all  down 
the  centuries ! 

I  led  them  up  to  the  castle,  they  carrying  with  them 
food  enough  for  several  days.  W^e  passed  Rustum  Khan 
coming  down  with  the  horsemen,  and  I  fell  behind  to 
have  word  with  him. 

"\\'hich  of  these  men  shall  I  pick  to  command  the 
rest?"  I  asked  him.   "You've  more  experience  of  them." 

"Any  that  3'ou  choose  Avill  be  pounced  on  by  the  rest 
as  wolves  devour  a  sheep !"  the  Rajput  answered. 

"Should  I  have  them  vote  on  it  ?" 

"They  would  elect  you,"  he  answered. 

"I've  got  to  be  free  to  look  for  Miss  Gloria.  She's 
kidnapped — disappeared  utterly !" 

Rustum  Khan  swore  under  his  breath,  using  a  language 
that  I  knew  no  word  of. 

"A  woman  again,  and  more  trouble!"  he  said  at  last 
grimly,  "Let  like  cure  like  then !  Choose  a  woman  herds- 
man !"  he  grinned.  "It  may  be  she  will  surprise  them 
into  obedience !" 

"I'll  take  your  advice,"  said  I,  although  I  resented  his 
insinuation  that  they  were  a  herd — so  swiftly  docs  com- 
mand make  partisans. 

"The  last  thing  you  may  take  from  me,  sahib!"  he 
answered. 

"How  so?" 

"So  few  against  so  many!  T  see  death,  and  I  am  not 
sorry.  Only  may  I  die  leading  those  good  mountain- 
men  of  mine !" 


318  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

It  was  part  and  parcel  of  him  to  praise  those  he  had 
drilled  and  scorn  the  others.  I  shook  hands  and  said 
nothing.  It  did  not  seem  my  place  to  contradict  him. 

"Let  us  hope  these  people  are  the  gainers  by  our  fin- 
ish !"  he  called  over  his  shoulder,  riding  on  after  his 
command.  "They  are  not  at  all  bad  people — only  un- 
drilled,  and  a  little  too  used  to  the  ways  of  the  Turk ! 
Good-by,  sahib!" 

Within  the  castle  gate  I  found  a  woman,  whom  they  all 
iaddressed  as  Marie,  very  busy  sorting  out  the  bundles 
they  had  thrown  against  the  wall.  She  was  putting  all 
the  food  together  into  a  common  fund,  and  as  I  entered 
she  shouted  to  her  own  nominees  among  the  other  women 
to  get  their  cooking  pots  and  begin  business. 

Still  pondering  Rustum  Khan's  advice,  in  the  dark 
whether  or  not  he  meant  it  seriously,  I  chose  Marie 
Chandrian  to  take  command.  She  made  no  bones  about 
it,  but  accepted  with  a  great  shrill  laugh  that  the  rest  of 
them  seemed  to  recognize — and  to  respect  for  old 
acquaintance'  sake.  She  turned  out  to  have  her  husband 
with  her — an  enormous,  hairy  man  with  a  bull's  voice, 
who  ought  to  have  been  in  one  or  other  of  the  firing- 
lines  but  had  probably  held  back  in  obedience  to  his  bet- 
ter half.  She  made  him  her  orderly  at  once,  and  it  was 
not  long  before  every  soul  in  the  castle  had  his  or  her 
place  to  hold. 

Then  I  mounted  once  more  and  rode  at  top  speed  down 
the  new  road  that  Monty  was  defending,  taking  another 
horse  this  time,  not  so  good,  but  much  less  afraid  of  the 
din  of  battle. 

I  found  Monty  scarcely  fifty  paces  from  the  track,  on 
the  outside  edge  of  the  fringe  of  trees  that  the  Turks 
had  been  unable  to  cut  down.    There  were  numbers  of 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  319 

^vounded  laid  out  on  the  track  itself,  with  none  to  carry 
them  away ;  and  the  Turks  were  keeping  up  a  hot  fire 
from  behind  the  shelter  of  the  felled  trees  and  standing 
stumps.  The  outside  range  was  two  hundred  yards,  and 
there  were  several  platoons  of  the  enemy  who  had  crept 
up  to  within  thirty  or  forty  yards  and  could  not  be  dis- 
lodged. 

I  pulled  Monty  backward,  for  he  could  not  hear  me, 
and  he  and  I  stood  behind  two  trees  while  I  told  him  what 
I  had  done,  shouting  into  his  ear. 

"I've  got  to  go  and  find  Gloria !"  I  said  finally,  and  he 
frowned,  and  nodded. 

"Go  first  and  take  a  look  at  the  ramp  through  the  trees. 
Tell  me  what's  happening." 

So  I  limped  down  to  the  end  of  the  track  and  made 
my  way  cautiously  through  the  lower  fringe  of  trees  that 
had  been  cut  three-parts  through  in  readiness  for  felling 
in  a  hurry.  Just  as  I  got  there  the  Turks  began  a  new 
massed  advance  up  the  ramp,  as  if  in  direct  proof  of 
Monty's  mental  alertness. 

The  men  posted  on  the  opposite  flank  to  where  I  was 
opened  a  terrific  fire  that  would  have  made  j)oor  Kagig 
bite  his  lips  in  fear  for  the  waning  ammunition.  Then 
Fred  came  into  action  with  his  hundred,  throwing  them 
in  line  into  the  open  along  the  top,  where  they  lay  down 
to  squander  cartridges — squandering  to  some  purpose, 
however,  for  the  Turkish  lines  checked  and  reeled. 

But  Mahmoud  Bey  had  evidently  given  orders  that 
this  advance  should  be  pressed  home,  and  the  Turks  came 
on,  comjiany  after  company,  in  succeeding  waves  of  men. 
There  were  scmuc  in  fro'it  with  picks  and  shovels,  making 
rough  steps  in  the  slippery  clay;  anrl  I  groaned,  haling 
to  go  and  Icll  Moiily  that  it  was  only  a  matter  of  minutes 


320  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

before  the  frontal  attack  must  succeed  and  the  pass  be 
in  enemy  hands. 

"Here  goes  Armenia's  last  chance !"  I  thought ;  and  I 
waited  to  see  the  beginning  of  the  end  before  limping 
back  to  Mont3\ 

And  it  was  well  I  did  wait.  I  had  actually  forgotten 
Rustum  Khan  and  his  two  squadrons.  Nor  would  I  ever 
have  believed  without  seeing  it  that  one  lone  man  could 
so  inspirit  and  control  that  number  of  aliens  whom  he 
had  only  as  much  as  drilled  a  time  or  two.  It  said  as 
much  for  the  Zeitoonli  as  for  Rustum  Khan.  Without 
the  very  ultimate  of  bravery,  good  faith,  and  intelligence 
on  their  part  he  could  never  have  come  near  attempting 
what  he  did. 

He  brought  his  two  squadrons  in  line  together  sud- 
denly over  the  brow  of  the  ramp,  galloped  them  forward 
between  Fred's  extended  riflemen,  and  charged  down- 
hill, the  horses  checking  as  they  felt  the  slippery  clay 
under  foot  and  then,  unable  to  pull  up,  careering  head- 
long, urged  by  their  riders  into  madder  and  madder 
speed,  with  Rustum  Khan  on  his  beautiful  bay  mare 
several  lengths  in  the  lead. 

Cavalry  usually  starts  at  a  walk,  then  trots,  and  only 
gains  its  great  momentum  within  a  few  3^ards  of  the 
enemy.  This  cavalry  started  at  top  speed,  and  never  lost 
it  until  it  buried  itself  into  the  advancing  Turks  as  an 
avalanche  bursts  into  a  forest !  No  human  enemy  could 
ever  have  withstood  that  charge.  Many  of  the  horses  fell 
in  the  first  fifty  yards,  and  none  of  these  were  able  to 
regain  their  feet  in  time  to  be  of  use.  Some  of  the  riders 
were  rolled  on  and  killed.  And  some  were  slain  by  the 
half-dozen  volleys  the  astonished  Turks  found  time  to 
greet  them  with.    But  more  than  two-thirds  of  Rustum 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  321 

Khan's  men,  armed  with  swords  of  every  imaginable 
shape  and  weight,  swept  voiceless  into  an  enemy  that 
could  not  get  out  of  their  way ;  and  regiments  in  the  rear 
that  never  felt  the  shock  turned  and  bolted  from  the 
wrath  in  front  of  them. 

I  climbed  out  to  the  edge  of  the  trees,  and  yelled  for 
Fred,  waving  both  arms  and  my  hat  and  a  branch.  He 
saw  me  at  last,  and  brought  his  hundred  men  down  the 
ramp  at  a  run. 

"Join  iMonty,"  I  shouted,  "and  help  him  clear  the 
woods !" 

He  led  his  men  into  the  trees  like  a  pack  of  hounds 
in  full  cry,  and  I  limped  after  them,  arriving  breathless 
in  time  to  see  the  Turks  in  front  of  Monty  in  full  re- 
treat, fearful  because  the  Rajput's  cavalry  had  turned 
their  flank.  Then  Monty  and  Fred  got  their  men  to- 
gether and  swung  them  down  into  the  pass  to  cover 
Rustum  Khan's  retreat  when  the  charge  should  have 
spent  itself. 

The  Rajput  had  managed  to  demoralize  the  Turkish 
infantry,  but  Mahmoud's  guns  were  in  the  rear,  far  out 
of  reach.  Bursting  shells  did  more  destruction  as  he 
shepherded  the  squadrons  back  again  than  bullet,  bayonet 
and  slippery  clay  combined  to  do  in  the  actual  charge 
itself.  Monty  gave  orders  to  throw  down  the  fringe  of 
trees  and  let  them  through  to  the  castle  road,  so  saving 
them  from  the  total  anniliilation  in  store  if  they  had 
essayed  to  scramble  up  the  slippery  ramp.  And  then 
Fred's  men  joined  Monty's  contingent,  helping  them 
fortify  the  new  line — deepening  and  reversing  the  trench 
the  Turks  had  dug  below  the  ramp,  and  continuing  that 
line  along  through  the  remaining  edge  of  trees  that  still 
stood  between  the  enemy  and  the  castle  road. 


322  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

But  by  cutting  clown  the  fringe  at  the  end  of  the  road 
to  let  Rustum  Khan  through  we  had  forfeited  the  last 
degree  of  secrecy.  If  the  Turks  could  come  again  and 
force  the  gut  of  the  pass,  nothing  but  the  hardest  imag- 
inable fighting  could  prevent  them  from  swinging  round 
at  that  point  and  making  use  of  our  handiwork. 

"That  castle  has  become  a  weakness,  not  a  strength, 
Colonel  sahib !"  said  Rustum  Khan,  striding  through  the 
trees  to  where  J\Ionty  and  Fred  and  I  were  standing.  "I 
have  lost  seven  and  thirty  splendid  men,  and  three  and 
forty  horses.   One  more  such  charge,  and — " 

"No,  Rustum  Khan.   Not  again,"  Monty  answered. 

"What  else  ?"  laughed  the  Rajput.  "That  castle  divides 
our  forces,  making  for  weakness.  If  only — " 

"We  must  turn  it  to  advantage,  then,  Rustum  Khan !" 

"Ah,  sahib  !   So  speaks  a  soldier !   How  then  ?" 

"Mahmoud  knows  by  now  that  the  trees  are  down," 
said  I.  "His  watchers  must  have  seen  them  fall.  Some 
of  the  trees  are  lying  outward  toward  the  ramp." 

"Exactly,"  said  Monty.  "His  own  inclination  will  lead 
him  to  use  our  new  road,  and  we  must  see  that  he  does 
exactly  that.  The  guns  are  making  the  ramp  too  hot  just 
now  for  amusement,  but  let  some  one — you,  Fred — run 
a  deep  ditch  across  the  top  of  the  ramp;  and  if  we  can 
hold  them  until  dark  we'll  have  connected  ditches  dug  at 
intervals  all  the  way  down." 

Looking  over  the  top  of  the  trees  I  could  just  see  the 
Montdidicr  standard  bellying  in  the  wind. 

"I'll  bet  you  Mahmoud  can  see  that,  too !"  said  I,  draw- 
ing the  others'  attention  to  it. 

"Let's  hope  so,"  Monty  answered  quietly.  "Now,  Rus- 
tum Khan,  find  one  of  those  brave  horsemen  of  yours 
who  is  willing  to  be  captured  by  the  enemy  and  give 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  323 

some  false  information.    I  want  it  well  understood  that 
our  only  fear  is  of  a  night  attack !" 

"You  say,  Colonel  sahib,  there  will  be  no  further  use 
for  cavalry?" 

"Not  for  a  charge  down  that  ramp,  at  any  rate !" 

"Then  send  me !  My  word  will  carry  conviction.  I  can 
say  that  as  a  Moslem  I  will  fight  no  longer  on  the  side 
of  Christians.  They  will  accept  my  information,  and 
then  hang  me  for  having  led  a  charge  into  their  infantry. 
Send  me,  sahib !" 

Monty  shook  his  head.  Rustum  Khan  seemed  inclined 
to  insist,  but  there  came  astonishing  interruption.  Kagig 
appeared,  with  arms  akimbo,  in  our  midst. 

"Oh,  sportmen  all !"  he  laughed.  "This  day  goes  well !" 

"Thank  God  you're  here !"  said  Monty.  "Now  we  can 
talk." 

"That  Will — what  is  his  name? — Will  Ycrkees  is  a 
wonderful  fighter !"  said  Kagig,  snapping  his  fingers  and 
making  the  joints  crack. 

"He  accuses  you  of  that  complaint,"  said  I. 

"Me?  No.  I  am  only  enthusiast.  The  road  behind 
Beirut  Dagh  is  rough  and  narrow.  The  Turks  had  hard 
work,  and  less  reason  for  eagerness  than  we.  So  we 
overcame  them.  They  have  fallen  back  to  where  they 
were  at  dawn,  and  they  arc  discouraged" — he  made  his 
finger-joints  crack  again — "discouraged!  The  women 
feel  very  confident.  The  men  feel  exactly  as  the  women 
do!  The  Turks  are  preparing  to  bivouac  where  they 
lie.   They  will  attack  no  more  to-day — I  know  them !" 

"Listen,  Kagig!"  Monty  drew  us  all  together  with  a 
gesture  of  both  hands.  "These  Turks  are  too  many  for 
us,  if  we  give  them  time.  Our  ammunition  won't  last,  for 
one  thing.    We  must  induce  Alahniuud  lu  attack  to-night 


324  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

— coax  him  up  this  castle  road,  and  catch  him  in  a  trap. 
It  can  be  done.  It  must  be  done !" 

"I  know  the  right  man  to  send  to  the  Turk  to  tell  him 
things !"  Kagig  answered  slowly  with  relish, 

"That  is  my  business!"  growled  Rustum  Khan,  but 
Kagig  laughed  at  him. 

"No  Turk  would  believe  a  word  you  say — not  one 
leetle  word !"  he  said,  snapping  his  fingers.  "You  are  a 
good  fighter.  I  saw  your  charge  from  the  castle  tower; 
it  was  very  good.  But  I  will  send  an  Armenian  on  this 
errand.  Go  on,  Lord  Monty ;  I  know  the  proper  man." 

"That's  about  the  long  and  short  of  it,"  said  Monty. 
"If  we  can  induce  Mahmoud  to  attack  to-night,  we've  a 
fair  chance  of  hitting  him  so  hard  that  he'll  withdraw 
and  let  us  alone.   Otherwise — " 

Kagig's  finger-joints  cracked  harder  than  ever  as  his 
quick  mind  reviewed  the  possibilities. 

"Have  you  any  idea  what  can  have  happened  to  Miss 
Vanderman?"  I  asked  him. 

"Miss  Vanderman?  No?  What?  Tell  me!" 

He  seemed  astonished,  and  I  told  him  slowly,  lest  he 
miss  one  grain  of  the  enormity  of  Maga's  crime.  But 
instead  of  appearing  distressed  he  shook  his  hands  de- 
lightedly and  rattled  off  a  very  volley  of  cracking 
knuckles. 

"That  is  the  idea !  We  have  Mahmoud  caught !  I  know 
Mahmoud!  I  know  him!  The  man  I  shall  choose  shall 
tell  Mahmoud  that  Gloria  Vanderman — the  beautiful 
American  young  lady,  who  is  outlawed  because  of  her 
fighting  on  behalf  of  Armenians — who — who  could  not 
possibly  be  claimed  by  the  American  consul,  on  account 
of  being  outlawed — is  in  the  castle  to-night  and  can  be 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  325 

taken  if  he  only  will  act  quickly!  Oh,  how  his  eyes  will 
glitter!  That  Mahmoud — he  buys  women  all  the  time! 
A  young — beautiful — athletic  American  girl — IMahmoud 
will  sacrifice  three  thousand  men  to  capture  her !" 

IMonty  ground  his  teeth.  Fred  turned  his  back,  and 
filled  his  pipe.  Rustum  Khan  brushed  his  black  beard 
upward  with  both  hands. 

"Suppose  you  go  now  and  try  to  find  Aliss  Vander- 
man,"  said  ]Monty  rather  grimly  to  me.  "If  you  find  her, 
hide  her  out  of  harm's  way  and  communicate  with  Will!" 

So  Fred  helped  me  on  the  horse  and  I  rode  back  to 
the  castle,  where  I  explained  the  details  of  the  fighting 
below  to  the  defenders,  and  then  rode  on  down  to  Zeitoon 
by  the  other  road.  It  was  wearing  along  into  the  after- 
noon, and  I  had  no  idea  which  way  to  take  to  look  for 
Gloria ;  but  I  did  have  a  notion  that  Maga  Jhaere  might 
be  looking  out  for  me.  There  was  a  chance  that  she 
might  have  been  in  earnest  in  persuading  me  to  elope,  and 
that  if  I  rode  alone  she  might  show  herself — she  or  else 
Gloria's  captors. 

Failing  signs  of  jMaga  Jhaere  or  her  men,  I  proposed 
to  ride  behind  Beirut  Dagh  in  search  of  Will,  and  to  get 
his  quick  Yankee  wit  employed  on  the  situation. 

So,  instead  of  crossing  the  bridge  into  Zeitoon  I  guided 
my  horse  around  the  base  of  the  mountain,  riding  slowly 
so  as  to  ease  the  pain  in  my  foot  and  to  give  plenty  of 
opportunity  to  any  one  lying  in  wait  to  waylay  me. 

It  happened  I  guessed  rightly.  The  track  swung  sharp 
to  the  left  after  a  while,  and  passed  up-hill  through  a 
gorge  between  two  din's  into  wilder  country  than  any 
I  had  yet  seen  in  Armenia.  From  the  top  of  the  clifT  on 
the  right-hand  side  a  i)cbble  was  dropjK-d  and  struck  the 


326  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

horse — then  another — then  a  third  one.  I  thought  it  best 
Id  take  no  notice  of  that,  ahhough  the  horse  made  fuss 
enough. 

The  third  pebble  was  followed  by  a  shrill  whistle, 
which  I  also  decided  to  ignore,  and  continued  to  ride  on 
toward  where  a  clump  of  scrawny  bushes  marked  the 
opening  out  of  a  narrow  valley.  I  heard  the  bushes 
rustle  as  I  drew  near  them,  and  was  not  surprised  to  see 
Maga  emerge,  looking  hot,  impatient  and  angry,  although 
not  less  beautiful  on  that  account. 

"Fool !"  she  began  on  me.  "Why  you  wait  so  long  ? 
Another  half-hour  and  it  is  too  late  altogether!  Come 
now !   Leave  the  horse.   Come  quick !" 

Wondering  what  important  difference  half  an  hour 
should  make,  it  occurred  to  me  that  Will  was  probably 
impatient  long  ago  at  receiving  no  news  of  Gloria.  If  I 
judged  Will  rightly,  he  would  be  on  his  way  to  look  for 
her. 

"Come  quick  !"  commanded  Maga. 

"I  can't  climb  that  clifif,"  said  I.    "I've  hurt  my  foot." 

"I  help  you.    Come  !" 

She  stepped  up  close  beside  me  to  help  me  down,  but 
that  instant  it  seemed  to  me  that  I  heard  more  than  one 
horse  approaching. 

"Quick !"  she  commanded,  for  she  heard  them,  too,  and 
held  out  her  arms  to  help  me.  "Quick !  I  have  two  men 
to  help  you  walk !" 

I  could  have  reached  my  pistol,  but  so  could  she  have 
reached  hers,  and  her  hand  and  eye  were  quicker  than 
forked  lightning.  Besides,  to  shoot  her  would  have  been 
of  doubtful  beticfit  until  Gloria's  whereabouts  were  first 
ascertained.  She  put  an  arm  round  me  to  pull  me  from 
the  saddle,  and  that  settled  it.    I  fell  on  her  with  all  my 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  327 

weight,  throwing  her  backward  into  the  bushes,  and  kick- 
ing the  horse  in  the  ribs  with  m}^  uninjured  foot.  The 
horse  took  fright  as  I  intended,  and  went  galloping  off 
in  the  direction  of  the  approaching  sounds. 

I  had  not  wrestled  since  I  was  a  boy  at  school,  and 
then  never  with  such  a  spitting  puzzle  of  live  wires  as 
Maga  proved  herself.  I  had  the  advantage  of  weight, 
but  I  had  told  her  of  my  injured  foot,  and  she  worked 
like  a  she-devil  to  damage  it  further,  fighting  at  the  same 
time  with  left  and  right  wrist  alternately  to  reach  pistol 
and  knife. 

I  let  go  one  wrist,  snatched  the  pistol  out  of  her  bosom 
and  threw  it  far  away.  But  with  the  free  hand  she 
reached  her  knife,  and  landed  with  it  into  my  ribs.  The 
pain  of  the  stab  sickened  me;  but  the  knowledge  that  she 
had  landed  fooled  her  into  relaxing  her  hold  in  order  to 
jurnp  clear.  So  I  got  hold  of  both  wrists  again,  and  we 
rolled  over  and  over  among  the  bushes,  she  trying  like  an 
eel  to  wriggle  away,  and  I  doing  my  utmost  to  crush  the 
strength  out  of  her. 

We  were  interrupted  by  Will's  voice,  and  by  Will's 
strong  arms  dragging  us  apart. 

"Catch  hci^"  I  panted.   "Hold  her !   Don't  let  her  go !" 

"Never  fear !"  he  laughed. 

"Her  men  have  kidnapped  Gloria!    Tie  her  hands!" 

Will  had  two  men  with  him,  one  of  whom  was  leading 
my  runaway  horse.  They  gazed  open-eyed  while  Will 
lied  Maga's  wrists  behind  her  back. 

"Kagig — what  will  he  say  ?"  one  of  them  objected,  but 
Will  laughed. 

"What  you  do  with  mc?"  demanded  Alaga. 

"Take  you  to  Kagig,  of  course.  Where's  Miss  Van- 
derman  ?" 


328  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

Then  suddenly  Maga's  whole  appearance  changed.  The 
defiance  vanished,  leaving  her  as  if  by  magic  supple 
again,  subtle,  suppliant,  conjuring  back  to  memory  the 
nights  when  she  had  danced  and  sung.  The  fire  departed 
from  her  eyes  and  they  became  wet  jewels  of  humility 
Avith  soft  love  lights  glowing  in  their  depths. 

"You  do  not  want  that  woman  1"  she  said  slowly,  smil- 
ing at  Will.  "You  give  'er  to  this  fool !"  She  glanced  at 
my  bleeding  ribs,  as  if  the  blood  were  evidence  of  folly. 
"You  take  me.  Will  Yerkees !  Then  I  teach  you  all  things 
— all  about  people — all  about  land,  and  love,  and  animals, 
and  water,  and  the  air — I  teach  you  all !" 

She  paused  a  moment,  watching  his  face,  judging  the 
effect  of  words.  He  stood  waiting  with  a  look  of  puzzled 
distress  that  betrayed  regret  for  her  tied  wrists,  but  ac- 
cepted the  necessity.  Perhaps  she  mistook  the  chivalrous 
distress  for  tenderness. 

"I  'ave  tried  to  make  that  man  Kagig  king!  I  *ave 
tried,  and  tried!  But  'e  is  no  good!  If  'e  'ad  obeyed  me, 
I  would  'ave  made  'im  king  of  all  Armenia !  But  'e  is  as 
good  as  dead  already,  because  Mahmoud  the  Turk  is 
come  to  finish  'im — so !"  She  spat  conclusively.  "So  now 
I  make  you  king  instead  of  'im !  You  let  that  Gloria 
Vanderman  go  to  this  fool,  an'  I  show  you  'ow  to  make 
all  Armenians  follow  you  an'  overthrow  the  Turks,  an' 
conquer,  an'  you  be  king !" 

Will  laughed.  "Better  stick  to  Kagig!  I'm  going  to 
take  you  to  him !" 

"You  take  me  to  'im  ?" 

She  flashed  again,  swift  as  a  snake  to  illustrate  resent- 
ment. 

"Yes." 

"Then  I  tell  'im  things  about  you,  an'  'e  believe  me !" 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  329 

'Tet's  bargain,"  laughed  Will.  "Show  me  Miss  Van- 
deiman,  ahve  and  well,  and — " 

"Steady  the  Buffs  I"  I  warned  him.  "Gloria's  not  far 
away.  There  were  pebbles  dropped  on  my  horse.  There 
may  be  a  cave  above  this  cliff — or  something  of  the  sort." 

Will  nodded.  " — and  I  won't  tell  Kagig  you  made 
love  to  me !"  he  continued. 

"Poof !  Pah !  Kagig,  'e  know  that  long  ago !" 

Will  turned  to  his  two  men  and  bade  them  tie  the 
horses  to  a  bush. 

"How  are  the  ribs?"  he  asked  me. 

"Nothing  serious,"  said  I. 

"Do  you  think  you  can  watch  her  if  I  tie  her  feet?" 

"She's  slippery  and  strong!  Better  tie  her  to  a  tree 
as  well !" 

So  between  them  Will  and  the  two  men  trussed  her  up 
like  a  chicken  ready  for  the  market,  making  her  bound 
ankles  fast  to  the  roots  of  a  bush.  Then  he  led  the  two 
men  up  the  cliff-side,  and  Maga  lay  glaring  at  me  as  if 
j^he  hoped  hate  could  set  me  on  fire,  while  I  made  shift 
lo  stanch  my  wound. 

But  she  changed  her  tactics  almost  before  Will  was  out 
of  sight  beyond  a  boulder,  beginning  to  scream  the  same 
words  over  and  over  in  the  gipsy  tongue  and  struggling 
to  free  her  feet  until  I  thought  the  thongs  would  either 
burst  or  strip  the  flesh  from  her. 

The  screams  were  answered  by  a  shout  from  up  above. 
Then  I  heard  Will  shout,  and  some  one  fired  a  pistol. 
There  came  a  clatter  of  loose  stones,  and  I  got  to  my 
feet  to  be  ready  for  action — not  that  my  hurts  would  have 
let  me  accomplish  much. 

A  second  later  I  saw  three  of  Gregor  Jhacrc's  gipsies 
scurrying  along  the  cliff-side,  turning  at  intervals  to  fire 


330  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON]' 

pistols  at  some  one  in  pursuit.  So  I  joined  in  the  fray 
with  my  Colt  repeater,  and  flattered  myself  I  did  not  do 
so  badly.  The  first  two  shots  produced  no  other  effect 
than  to  bring  the  runaways  to  a  halt.  The  next  three 
shots  brought  all  three  men  tumbling  head  over  heels 
down  the  cliff-side,  rolling  and  sliding  and  scattering  the 
stones. 

One  fell  near  IMaga's  feet  and  lay  there  writhing.  The 
other  two  came  to  a  standstill  in  a  hideous  heap  beside 
me,  and  I  stooped  to  see  if  I  could  recognize  them. 

What  happened  after  that  was  almost  too  quick  for 
the  senses  to  take  in.  One  of  the  gipsies  came  suddenly 
to  life  and  seized  me  by  the  neck.  The  other  grasped  my 
feet,  and  as  I  fell  I  saw  the  third  man  slash  loose  Maga's 
thongs  and  help  her  up. 

l\Iy  two  assailants  rolled  me  over  on  my  back,  and 
^vhile  one  held  me  the  other  aimed  blows  at  my  head 
with  the  butt  of  his  empty  pistol.  Once  he  hit  me,  and  it 
felt  like  an  explosion.  Twice  by  a  miracle  I  dodged  the 
blows,  growing  weaker,  though,  and  hopeless.  He  aimed 
a  fourth  blow,  taking  his  time  about  it  and  making  sure 
of  his  aim,  and  I  waited  in  the  nearest  approach  to  fa- 
talistic calm  I  ever  experienced. 

In  a  strange  abstraction,  in  which  every  movement 
seemed  to  be  slowed  down  into  unbelievable  leisureliness, 
I  saw  the  butt  of  the  pistol  begin  to  approach  my  eye — 
near — nearer.  Then  suddenly  I  heard  a  woman  scream, 
and  a  shot  ring  out. 

Instead  of  the  pistol  butt  the  gipsy's  brains  splashed 
on  my  face,  and  the  man  collapsed  on  top  of  me.  Next  I 
realized  that  Gloria  Vanderman  was  wiping  my  face  with 
a  cloth  of  some  kind,  holding  a  hot  pistol  in  her  other 
hand,  while  Will  was  standing  laughing  over  me,  and 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  331 

Maga  Jhaere  with  the  other  gipsy  had  disappeared  aUo- 
gether. 

"Did  you  shoot  Maga?"  I  mumbled, 

"No,"  Will  laughed.  "I'd  hate  to  shoot  a  woman  who'd 
offered  to  make  me  king !  She  ought  to  be  hung,  though, 
for  a  horse-thief  1  She  and  that  other  gipsy  got  away 
with  the  mounts !  Never  mind — there  are  four  of  us  to 
carry  you,  if  Gloria  lends  a  hand !" 

But  I  have  no  notion  how  they  carried  me.  All  I  re- 
member is  recovering  consciousness  that  evening  in  the 
castle,  to  discover  myself  copiously  bandaged,  and  pain- 
fully stiff,  but  not  so  much  of  an  invalid  after  all. 


FRAGMENT 

Oh,  fear  and  hate  shall  have  their  spate 
(For  both  of  the  tivain  are  one) 
And  lust  and  greed  devour  the  seed 
That  else  had  growth  begun. 
Fiercely  the  flow  of  death  shall  go 
And  short  the  good  m-an's  shrift! 
All  hell's  azvake  full  toll  to  take. 
And  passion's  hour  is  swift. 

But  there  be  cracks  in  evil's  tracks 

Where  seed  shall  safe  abide, 

And  living  rocks  shall  breast  the  shocks 

Of  overfiotving  tide. 

Castle  and  wall  and  keep  shall  fall. 

Prophet  and  plan  shall  fail, 

And  they  shall  thank  nor  wit  nor  rank 

Who  in  the  end  prevail. 


CHAPTER  T\\^ENTY-ONE 

"Those  li'ho  survive  ihis  night  shall  have  brave  mem- 
ories!" 

100KING  back  after  this  lapse  of  time  there  seems 
^  little  difference  between  the  disordered  dreams  of 
unconsciousness  and  the  actual  waking  turmoil  of  that 
night.  At  first  as  I  came  slowly  to  my  senses  there  seemed 
only  a  sea  of  voices  ^11  about  me,  and  a  constant  thump- 
ing, as  of  falling  weights. 

There  were  great  pine  torches  set  in  the  rusty  old 
rings  on  the  wall,  and  by  their  fitful  light  I  saw  that  I 
lay  on  a  cot  in  the  castle  keep.  Monty,  Fred,  Will,  Kagig 
and  Rustum  Khan  were  conversing  at  a  table.  Gloria  sat 
on-  an  up-ended  pine  log  near  me.  A  dozen  Armenians, 
including  the  "elders"  who  had  disagreed  with  Kagig, 
stood  arguing  rather  noisily  near  the  door. 

"What  is  the  thumping?"  I  asked,  and  Gloria  hurried 
to  the  cot-side.  But  I  managed  to  sit  up,  and  after  she 
had  given  me  a  drink  I  found  that  my  foot  was  still  the 
most  injured  part  of  me.  It  was  swollen  unbelievably, 
whereas  my  bandaged  head  felt  little  the  worse  for  wear, 
and  the  knife-wound  did  not  hurt  much. 

"They're  bringing  in  wood,"  she  answered. 

"Why  all  that  quantity  ?" 

The  thunijjing  was  continuous,  not  unlike  the  noise 
good  stevedores  make  when  loading  against  time. 

"To  burn  the  castle  !" 

At  that  moment  Rustum  Khan  left  the  tabic,  and  see- 
ing me  sitting  up  strode  over. 

"Good-by,  sahib!"  he  said,  reaching  out  for  my  hand.. 
333 


334  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOOTT 

"The  lord  sahib  has  given  me  a  post  of  honor  and  I  go 
to  hold  it.  Those  who  survive  this  night  shall  have  brave 
memories  1" 

I  got  to  my  feet  to  shake  hands  with  him,  and  I  think 
he  appreciated  the  courtesy,  for  his  stern  eyes  softened 
for  a  moment.  He  saluted  Gloria  rather  perfunctorily 
as  became  his  attitude  toward  women,  and  strode  away 
to  a  point  half-way  between  the  door  and  Monty.  There 
he  turned,  facing  the  table. 

"Lord  sahib  bahadur !"  h?  said  sonorously. 

Monty  got  up  and  stood  facing  him. 

"Salaam !" 

"Salaam,  Rustum  Khan !"  Monty  answered,  returning 
the  salute,  and  the  others  got  to  their  feet  in  a  hurry,  and 
stood  at  attention. 

Then  the  Rajput  faced  about  and  went  striding  through 
the  doorless  opening  into  the  black  night — the  last  I  was 
destined  to  see  of  him  alive. 

"May  we  all  prove  as  faithful  and  brave  as  that  man !" 
said  Monty,  sitting  down  again,  and  Kagig  cracked  his 
knuckles. 

Gloria  and  I  went  over  and  sat  at  the  table,  and  seeing 
me  in  a  state  to  understand  things  Monty  gave  me  a 
precis  of  the  situation. 

"We're  making  a  great  beacon  of  this  castle,"  he  said. 
"Three  hundred  men  and  women  are  piling  in  the  felled 
logs  and  trees  and  down-wood — everything  that  will 
burn.  We  shall  need  light  on  the  scene.  Rustum  Khan 
has  gone  to  hold  the  clay  ramp  and  make  sure  the  Turks 
turn  up  this  castle  road.  Fred  is  to  hold  the  corner ;  we've 
fortified  the  Zcitoon  side  of  the  road,  and  Fred^'and  his 
men  are  to  make  sure  the  Turks  don't  spread  out  through 
the  trees.  Kagig,  Will  and  I,  with  twenty-five  very  care- 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON'  335' 

fully  picked  men  for  each  of  us,  wait  for  the  Turks  at 
the  bottom  of  the  road  and  put  up  a  feint  of  resistance. 
Our  business  will  be  to  make  it  look  as  little  like  a  trap 
and  as  much  like  a  desperate  defense  as  possible.  We 
hope  to  make  it  seem  we're  caught  napping  and  fighting 
in  the  last  ditch." 

"Last  ditch  is  true  enough !"  Fred  commented  cheer- 
fully. Fred  was  obviously  in  his  best  humor,  faced  by  a 
situation  that  needed  no  cynicism  to  discolor  it — full  of 
fight  and  perfectly  contented. 

"Practically  all  of  the  rest  of  the  men  and  women  who 
are  not  watching  the  enemy  on  the  other  side  of  Beirut 
Dagh,"  Monty  went  on,  "are  hidden,  or  will  be  hidden  in 
the  timber  on  either  side  of  the  road.  We're  hoping  to 
God  they'll  have  sense  enough  to  keep  silent  until  the 
beacon  is  lighted.  You're  to  light  the  beacon,  since  you're 
recovering  so  finely — you  and  Miss  Vanderman." 

"Yes,  but  when  ?"  said  I. 

"When  the  bugles  blow.   We've  got  six  bugles — " 

"Only  two  of  them  are  cornets  and  one's  a  trombone," 
Fred  put  in. 

"And  when  they  all  sound  together,  then  set  the  castle 
alight  and  kill  any  one  you  see  who  isn't  an  Armenian  1" 

"Or  us!"  said  Fred.  "You're  asked  not  to  kill  one 
of  us!" 

"As  a  matter  of  fact,"  said  Monty,  "I  rather  expect  to 
be  near  you  by  that  time,  because  we  don't  want  to  give 
llic  signal  until  as  many  Turks  as  possible  are  caught  in 
the  road  like  rats.  At  the  signal  we  close  the  road  at  both 
ends;  Kustum  Klian  and  Fred  from  the  bottom  end,  and 
we  at  the  top." 

"Most  of  the  murder,"  Fred  explained  cheerfully, 
"will  be  done  by  the  women  bidden  in  the  trees  on  either 


336  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

flank.  As  long  as  they  don't  shoot  across  the  road  and 
kill  one  another  it'll  be  a  picnic !" 

"How  do  you  know  the  Turks  will  walk  into  the  trap  ?" 
I  asked. 

"Ten  'traitors/  "  said  Monty,  "have  let  themselves  get 
caught  at  intervals  since  noon.  One  of  Kagig's  spies  has 
got  across  to  us  with  news  that  Mahmoud  means  to  finish 
the  hash  of  Zeitoon  to-night.  His  men  have  been  prom- 
ised all  the  loot  and  all  the  women." 

"Except  one !"  Fred  added  with  a  glance  at  Gloria. 

"Two  !  Except  two !"  remarked  Kagig  with  a  glance  at 
the  door.   We  looked,  and  held  our  breath. 

Dvlaga  Jhaere  stood  there,  with  a  hand  on  the  masonry 
on  each  side ! 

"You  fool,  Kagig,  what  you  fill  this  castle  full  of  wood 
for?"  she  demanded. 

Kagig  beckoned  to  her. 

"To  burn  little  traitoresses !"  he  answered  tenderly. 
"Come  here!" 

She  walked  over  to  him,  and  he  put  his  arm  around  her 
waist,  looking  up  from  his  seat  into  her  face  as  if  study- 
ing it  almost  for  the  first  time.  She  began  running  her 
fingers  through  his  hair. 

"Is  she  not  beautiful?"  he  asked  us  naively.  Then, 
not  waiting  for  an  answer:  "She  is  my  wife,  effcndim. 
You  would  not  have  me  be  revengeful — not  toward  my 
wife,  I  think?" 

"Your  wife?  Why  didn't  you  tell  us  that  before?" 

Gloria  seemed  the  most  surprised,  as  well  as  the  most 
amused,  although  we  were  all  astonished. 

"Not  tell  you  before?  Oh — do  you  remember  Abra- 
ham— in  the  Bible — yes?  She  has  been  my  best  spy  now 
and  then.     As  Kagig's  wife  what  good  would  she  be? 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  ZZ7 

Yet,  had  I  not  married  her,  I  should  have  lost  the  services 
of  most  of  my  best  spies — Gregor  Jhaere  for  one.  He  is 
not  her  father,  no.  They  call  her  their  queen.  She  is 
daughter  of  another  gipsy  and  of  an  Armenian  lady  of 
very  good  family.  She  has  always  hoped  to  see  me  a 
monarch !" 

He  laughed,  and  cracked  his  finger-joints. 

"To  make  of  me  a  monarch,  and  to  reign  beside  me ! 
Ha-ha-ha !  I  did  those  gipsies  a  favor  by  marrying  her, 
for  she  was  something  of  a  problem  to  them,  no  gipsy 
being  good  enough  in  her  eyes,  and  no  hiisnc  (Gentile) 
caring  for  the  honor  until  I  saw  and  fell  in  love!  Oh, 
yes,  I  fell  in  love  1  I,  Kagig,  the  old  adventurer,  I  fell  in 
love !" 

He  drew  her  down  and  kissed  her  as  tenderly  as  if  she 
were  a  little  child ;  then  rose  to  his  feet. 

"You  forgive  her,  effetidim?"  he  asked.  "You  forgive 
her  for  my  sake?" 

None  answered  him.    Perhaps  he  asked  too  much. 

"Never  mind  me,  then,  effendim.  Not  for  my  sake,  but 
for  the  good  work  she  has  so  often  done,  and  for  the 
work  she  shall  do — you  forgive  her  ?" 

We  all  looked  toward  Gloria.  It  was  her  prerogative. 
Gloria  took  Maga's  left  hand  in  her  right. 

"I  don't  blame  you,"  she  said,  "for  coveting  Will.  I've 
coveted  him  myself !  But  you  needn't  have  let  your  men 
handle  me  so  roughly !" 

"No?"  said  Maga  blandly.  "Then  why  did  you  'urt 
two  of  them  so  badly  that  they  run  away?  Did  not  you 
shoot  that  other  one?  So — I  give 'im  to  you.  I  give  you 
that  Will  Ycrkecs— " 

"Thanks!"  put  in  Will,  but  Maga  ignored  the  interrup- 
tion. 


33S  TliE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

*' — not  because  you  are  cleverer  than  me — or  more 
beautiful.  You  are  uglee  !  You  can  not  dance,  and  as  for 
fighting,  I  could  keel  you  with  one  'and !  But  because  I 
like  Kagig  better  after  all!" 

At  that  Kagig  suddenly  dismissed  all  such  trivialities 
as  treachery  and  matrimony  from  his  mind  with  one  of 
his  Napoleonic  gestures. 

"It  is  time,  cffcndim,  to  be  moving!"  He  led  the 
way  out  without  another  word,  I  limping  along  last  and 
the  Armenian  "elders"  following  me. 

It  was  pitchy  dark  in  the  castle  courtyard,  and  with- 
out the  light  from  numerous  kerosene  lanterns  it  would 
not  have  been  possible  to  find  the  way  between  the 
heaped-up  logs.  There  was  only  a  crooked,  very  narrow 
passage  left  between  the  keep  and  the  outer  gate,  and 
they  had  long  ago  left  off  using  the  gate  for  the  lumber, 
but  were  hoisting  it  over  the  wall  with  ropes.  One  impro- 
vised derrick  squealed  in  the  darkness,  and  the  logs  came 
in  by  twos  and  tens  and  dozens.  No  sooner  were  we 
out  of  the  keep  than  women  came  and  tossed  in  logs 
through  the  door  and  windows,  until  presently  that  build- 
ing, too,  contained  fuel  enough  to  decompose  the  stone. 
And  over  the  whole  of  it,  here,  there  and  everywhere, 
men  were  pouring  cans  and  cans  of  kerosene,  while  other 
men  were  setting  dry  tinder  in  strategic  places. 

There  was  no  moon  that  night.  Or  if  there  was  a 
moon,  then  the  dark  clouds  hid  it.  No  doubt  Mahmoud 
thought  he  had  a  night  after  his  own  heart  for  the  pur- 
pose of  overwhelming  our  little  force;  for  how  should 
he  know  that  we  were  ready  for  the  massed  battalions 
forming  to  storm  the  gorge  again. 

At  a  little  after  eight  o'clock  Mahmoud  resumed  the 
oflfensive  with  his  artillery,  and  a  messenger  that  Monty 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  339 

sent  down  to  watch  returned  and  reported  the  shells  all 
bursting  wild,  with  Rustum  Khan's  men  taking  careful 
cover  in  the  ditches  they  had  zigzagged  down  the  whole 
face  of  the  ramp. 

An  hour  later  the  Turk's  infantry  was  reported  moving, 
and  shortly  before  ten  o'clock  we  heard  the  opening  rattle 
of  Rustum  Khan's  stinging  defense.  There  was  in- 
tended to  be  no  deception  about  that  part  of  our  arrange- 
ments; nor  was  there.  The  oncoming  enemy  was  met 
with  a  hail  of  destruction  that  checked  and  withered  his 
ranks,  and  made  the  succeeding  companies  onh^  too  will- 
ing to  turn  at  the  castle  road  instead  of  struggling 
straight  forward. 

Nor  was  the  turn  accomplished  without  further  loss; 
for  our  Zeitoonli,  still  entrenched  on  the  flank  of  the 
pass,  loosed  a  murderous  storm  of  lead  through  the  dark 
that  swept  every  inch  of  the  open  castle  road,  and  the  turn 
became  a  shambles. 

But  Mahmoud  had  reckoned  the  cost  and  decided  to 
pay  it.  Company  after  company  poured  up  the  gorge  in 
the  rear  of  the  front  ones,  and  turned  with  a  roar  up 
the  road,  butchered  and  bewildered,  but  ever  adding  to 
the  total  that  gained  shcher  beyond  the  first  turn  in  the 
road. 

Those,  however,  had  to  deal  at  once  with  ]\Ionty,  Will 
and  Kagig,  who  opened  on  them  guerrilla  warfare  from 
behind  trees — never  opposing  them  sufficiently  to  check 
them  altogether,  but  leading  them  steadily  forward  into 
the  two-mile  trap.  From  where  I  stood  on  the  top  of 
the  castle  wall  I  couM  juflge  pretty  accurately  how  the 
fight  went ;  anrl  I  marveled  at  the  skill  of  our  men  that 
they  should  retire  up  the  road  so  slowly,  and  make  such 
a  perfect  impression  of  desperate  defense.     Gloria  re- 


340  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

I 

fused  from  the  first  to  remain  inactive  beside  me,  but 
went  through  the  trees  down  the  Hnc  of  the  road,  cross- 
ing at  intervals  from  side  to  side,  urging  and  begging 
our  ambushed  people  to  be  patient  and  reserve  their  fire 
until  the  chorus  of  bugles  should  blow. 

About  eleven  o'clock  a  breathless  messenger  came  to 
say  that  the  Turks  had  renewed  the  attack  on  the  other 
side  of  Beirut  Dagh ;  but  I  did  not  even  send  him  on  to 
Kagig.  If  the  attack  was  a  feint,  as  was  probable,  in- 
tended to  distract  us  from  the  main  battle,  then  there 
were  men  enough  there  to  deal  with  it.  If,  on  the  other 
hand,  Mahmoud  had  divided  forces  and  sent  a  formidable 
number  around  the  mountain,  then  our  only  chance  was 
nevertheless  to  concentrate  on  our  great  effort,  and  de- 
feat the  nearest  first.  There  was  not  the  slightest  wis- 
dom in  sending  down  a  message  lilcely  to  distract  Monty 
or  Will  or  Kagig  from  their  immediate  task. 

The  women  kept  piling  in  the  pine  trees,  until  I  thought 
the  very  weight  of  lumber  might  defeat  our  purpose  by 
delaying  the  blaze  too  long.  But  Kagig  had  requisitioned 
every  drop  of  kerosene  in  Zeitoon,  and  the  stuff  was 
splashed  on  with  the  recklessness  that  comes  of  throwing 
parsimony  to  the  winds.  Then  I  grew  afraid  lest  they 
should  fire  the  stuff  too  soon,  or  lest  some  stray  spark 
from  a  man's  pipe  or  an  overturned  lantern  should  do 
the  work.  Every  imaginable  fear  presented  itself,  be- 
cause, having  no  active  part  in  the  fighting,  I  had  noth- 
ing to  distract  me  from  self-criticism.  It  became  almost 
a  foregone  conclusion  after  a  while  that  the  night's  work 
Avas  destined  to  be  spoiled  entirely  by  some  oversight  or 
stupidity  of  mine. 

The  battle  down  in  the  valley  dinned  and  screamed 
like  the  end  of  the  world,  although  the  Turks  could  not 


THE'EYE' OF~ZEITOON'  341 

use  their  artillery  for  fear  of  slaughtering  their  own  men, 
I  could  hear  Fred  hotly  engaged,  holding  the  corner  of 
the  turn  where  the  Turks  were  seeking  in  vain  to  widen 
it.  Probably  the  Turks  supposed  he  was  put  there  with 
a  hundred  men  to  defend  the  road,  instead  of  to  drive 
their  thinned  battalions  up  it. 

In  the  end  it  was  an  accident  that  set  the  bugles  blow^- 
ing,  and  probably  that  accident  saved  our  fortunes. 
Monty  shouted  to  a  man  to  run  and  ask  for  news  of  the 
fighting  below.  Mistaking  the  words  in  the  din,  the  mes- 
senger ran  to  the  rock  in  the  clearing  on  which  the  musi- 
cians waited,  and  a  minute  later  the  first  bars  of  the 
Marseillaise  rang  clearly  through  the  trees. 

The  almost  instant  answer  was  a  volley  from  each  side 
of  the  road  that  sounded  like  the  explosion  of  the  whole 
world.  And  the  Turks  hardly  half  into  the  trap  yet! 
Monty  and  Will  and  Kagig  brought  their  men  back  up 
the  road  at  the  double,  as  the  only  way  to  escape  the  fire 
of  our  ambushed  friends.  I  was  two  minutes  fumbling 
with  matches  in  the  wind  before  I  could  light  the  kind- 
ling set  ready  in  the  entrance  arch ;  and  it  was  about  three 
minutes  more  before  the  first  long  flame  shot  skyward 
and  the  beacon  we  had  set  began  to  do  its  appointed  work. 

Then,  though,  that  castle  proved  to  be  a  very  Vesuvius, 
for  the  draught  poured  in  through  the  doorlcss  arch 
and  hurried  the  hot  flames  skyward  to  be  mushroomed 
roaring  against  the  belly  of  black  clouds.  None  of 
us  knew  then  where  Mahmoud  was,  nor  that  he  had 
given  the  order  that  minute  to  his  trapped  battalions  to 
halt,  face  the  trees  on  either  side,  and  advance  in  either 
direction  in  order  to  widen  their  front. 

The  firing  of  the  castle,  for  some  mad  reason  of  the 
sort  that  mothers  every  catastrophe,  caused  them  to  dis- 


342  THE  F.YE  OF  ZEITOON 

obey  that  order  and,  instead,  to  charge  forward  at  the 
double.  In  a  moment  the  new  fury  (for  it  was  not 
panic,  nor  yet  exactly  the  reverse)  communicated  itself 
all  along  the  road,  and  the  regiments  at  the  rear,  in 
spite  of  the  murderous  fire  from  our  ambush,  yelled  and 
milled  to  drive  the  men  in  front  more  swiftly. 

Then  Fred  saw  the  castle  flames,  and  led  his  men  for- 
ward to  plug  up  the  lower  end  of  the  road.  Next  Rustum 
Khan  saw  it,  and  advanced  three  hundred  down  the  ramp 
to  hold  the  ditch  at  the  bottom  and  prevent  reserves  from 
coming  to  the  rescue. 

It  was  then,  so  he  told  us  afterward,  that  Fred  real- 
ized who  was  the  person  in  authority  who  had  sought  to 
change  the  line  of  battle  at  the  critical  moment.  Mah- 
moud  himself,  surrounded  by  his  staff,  had  ridden  for- 
ward to  see  what  the  true  nature  of  the  difficulty  might 
be,  and  had  got  caught  in  the  trap  when  Fred  closed  it 
and  Rustum  Khan  cut  off  the  flow  of  men ! 

Fred  did  his  best  by  rapid  fire  to  put  an  end  to  Mah- 
moud,  staff  and  all.  But  the  light  from  the  castle  did 
not  reach  down  in  among  the  trees,  and  when  he  told 
the  nearest  men  who  the  target  was  that  only  made  the 
shooting  wilder. 

Nor  was  Mahmoud  a  man  without  decision.  Realizing 
that  he  was  trapped,  at  any  rate  from  behind,  he  galloped 
forward  with  his  staff,  scattering  bewildered  men  to  right 
and  left  of  him,  to  find  out  whether  the  trap  could  not  be 
forced  from  the  upper  end,  knowing  that  there  were 
plenty  of  men  on  the  road  already  to  account  for  any 
possible  total  we  could  bring  against  them,  if  only  they 
could  be  led  forward  and  deployed. 

So  it  came  about  that  Mahmoud  on  a  splendid  war- 
horse,  and  five  of  his  mounted  staff,  arrived  at  the  head 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  343 

of  the  oncoming  column ;  and  Kagig  saw  them  in  a  mo- 
ment when  the  flare  from  the  castle  roared  like  a  rocket 
hundreds  of  feet  high  and  scattered  all  the  shadows  on 
that  section  of  the  road.  Kagig  passed  the  word  along, 
but  it  was  Monty  who  devised  the  instant  plan,  and  one  of 
Will's  men  who  came  running  to  find  me. 

So  I  forgot  pain  and  disability  in  the  excitement  of 
having  a  part  to  play,  Gloria  had  found  her  way  back 
to  the  castle,  and  it  was  she  who  rallied  all  the  men  and 
women  who  had  worked  at  piling  fuel,  and  brought  them 
to  where  I  lay.  Then  I  begged  her  to  get  back  some- 
where and  hide,  but  she  laughed  at  me. 

Our  business  was  to  hurry  down  the  road  and  plug 
it  against  Mahmoud  and  his  men,  while  Kagig  got  behind 
him  by  sheer  hand-to-hand  fighting,  and  Monty  and  Will 
approached  him  from  the  flanks.  We  had  to  be  cautious 
about  shooting,  because  of  Kagig,  for  one  thing,  but  for 
another,  Will  had  sent  the  message,  "Don't  kill  Mah- 
moud." And  that,  of  course,  was  obvious.  Mahmoud 
alive  would  be  worth  a  thousand  to  us  of  any  Mahmoud 
dead. 

Gloria  ran  down  the  road  beside  me,  and  Will  caught 
sight  of  her  in  the  dancing  light.  I  heard  him  shout 
something  in  United  States  English  about  women  and 
hell-fire  and  burned  fingers,  but  beyond  that  it  was  not 
jjolite,  and  was  intended  for  me  as  much  as  for  Gloria, 
I  did  not  get  the  gist  of  it.  Tiicn  the  battle  closed  up 
around  us,  and  we  all  fought  hand  to  hand — women 
harder  than  the  men — to  close  in  on  Mahmoud  and  drag 
him  from  his  horse. 

Three  times  in  the  fitful  dark  and  even  more  deceptive 
dancing  light  we  almost  had  him.  But  the  first  time  he 
fought  free,  and  his  war-horse  kicked  a  clear  way  for 


344  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

him  for  a  few  3'ards  through  the  scrimmage.  Then 
Kagig  closed  in  on  him  from  the  rear.  But  three  of  the 
staff  engaged  Kagig  alone,  and  twenty  or  thirty  of  Mah- 
moud's  infantry  drove  Kagig's  men  back  on  the  still  ad- 
vancing column.  Kagig  went  down,  fighting  and  shout- 
ing like  a  Berserker,  and  Monty  let  Mahmoud  go  to  run 
to  Kagig's  rescue. 

Monty  did  not  go  alone,  for  his  men  leapt  after  him  like 
hounds.  But  he  fought  his  way  in  the  lead  with  a  clubbed 
rifle,  and  stood  over  Kagig's  body  working  the  weapon 
like  a  flail.  That  was  all  I  saw  of  that  encounter,  for 
Mahmoud  decided  to  attempt  escape  by  the  upper  way 
again,  and  it  was  I  who  captured  him.  I  landed  on 
him  through  the  darkness  with  my  clenched  fist  under  the 
low  hung  angle  of  his  jaw  and,  seizing  his  leg,  threw 
him  out  of  the  saddle.  There  Gloria  helped  me  sit  on 
him;  and  the  greater  part  of  what  we  had  to  do  was 
to  keep  the  women  from  tearing  him  to  pieces. 

At  last  Gloria  and  I,  with  a  dozen  of  them,  took  Mah- 
moud up-hill  and  made  him  sit  down  in  full  firelight  with 
his  back  against  a  rock.  He  had  nothing  to  say  for  him- 
self, but  stared  at  Gloria  with  eyes  that  explained  the 
whole  philosophy  of  all  the  Turks ;  and  she,  for  sake  of 
the  decency  that  was  her  birthright,  went  and  stood  on 
the  far  side  of  the  rock  and  kept  the  bulge  of  it  between 
them. 

Then  I  sent  for  Kagig,  and  Monty,  and  Will ;  and  after 
they  had  seen  to  the  barricading  of  the  upper  end  of  the 
road  with  fallen  trees  and  a  fairly  wide  ditch,  Kagig 
and  Will  came,  followed  by  half  a  dozen  of  the  elders, 
who  had  been  lending  a  stout  hand  during  that  part  of 
the  night's  work.  Kagig  was  out  of  breath,  but  appar- 
ently not  hurt  much. 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  345 

They  came  so  slowly  that  I  wondered.  Gloria,  who 
could  see  much  farther  through  the  dark  than  I,  gave 
a  little  scream  and  ran  forward.  I  saw  then  by  a  sud- 
den burst  of  flame  from  the  castle  that  they  were  carry- 
ing something  heavy,  and  I  guessed  w'hat  it  was  although 
my  heart  rebelled  against  belief ;  but  I  did  not  dare  leave 
Mahmoud,  who  seemed  inclined  to  take  advantage  of  the 
first  stray  opportunity.  I  stuck  my  pistol  into  his  ear 
and  dared  him  to  move  hand  or  foot. 

Gloria  came  back  in  tears,  and  took  Mahmoud's  cape 
and  my  jacket,  and  spread  them  on  the  ground.  On 
these  they  laid  IMonty  very  tenderly,  Kagig  looking  on 
with  cracking  finger-joints  that  I  could  hear  quite 
plainly  in  spite  of  the  awful  rage  of  battle  that  thundered 
and  crashed  and  screamed  among  the  woods.  It  was  as 
one  sometimes  hears  the  ticking  of  a  watch  beneath  the 
I^illow  in  a  nightmare. 

Monty  was  alive,  but  in  spite  of  what  Gloria  could  do 
the  dark  blood  was  welling  out  from  a  sword  gash  on  his 
right  side,  and  we  had  not  a  surgeon  within  miles  of  us. 
fVom  somev/here  out  of  the  darkness  Maga  appeared, 
bringing  water,  her  face  all  black  with  the  filth  of  fighting 
among  trees,  and  her  eyes  on  fire. 

Monty  seemed  to  be  listening  to  the  noise  of  battle — 
Kagig  to  think  of  nothing  but  his  loss.  He  pointed  at 
Mahmoud,  who  was  eying  Monty  curiously. 

"See  the  prisoner!"  he  said.  "Ha!  I  would  give  a 
hundred  of  him  a  hundred  times  for  Monty,  my 
brother!" 

Monty  turned  his  head  to  sec  Mahmoud,  and  appeared 
partly  satisfied. 

"You  hold  the  key,"  he  snid  painfully.  "Mahmoud 
will  make  terms.     But  it  will  take  time  to  stoj)  the  fight- 


346  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

iiig.  You  must  send  down  reserves  to  Fred  and  Rus- 
lum  Khan — that  is  where  the  strain  is — you  must  see 
that  surely — the  enemy  from  below  will  be  trying  to  come 
forward,  and  those  in  the  trap  to  return.  Fred  and  Rus- 
tum  Khan  are  bearing  all  the  brunt.    Relieve  them !" 

It  did  not  look  good  to  me  that  Will  should  leave 
Gloria  again ;  and  Kagig  must  surely  stay  there  to  do  the 
bargaining.  So  I  took  IMoiity's  hand  to  bid  him  good-by, 
and  limped  off  through  the  dark  to  try  to  find  men  who 
would  come  with  me  to  the  shambles  below.  It  was 
Kagig  and  Will  together  who  overtook  me,  picked  me  off 
my  feet,  and  dragged  me  back,  and  Will  went  down 
alone,  with  a  wave  of  the  hand  to  Gloria,  and  a  laugh  that 
might  have  made  the  devil  think  he  liked  it. 

Then  began  the  conference,  I  holding  a  mere  watching 
brief  with  a  pistol  reasonably  close  to  Mahmoud's  ear. 
And  for  a  time,  while  Monty  lived,  the  elders  supported 
Kagig  and  insisted  on  the  full  concession  of  his  de- 
mands. But  Monty,  with  his  head  on  Gloria's  lap,  died 
midway  of  the  proceedings;  and  after  that  the  elders* 
suspicion  of  Kagig  reawoke,  so  that  Mahmoud  took 
courage  and  grew  more  obstinate.  Kagig  called  them 
aside  repeatedly  to  make  them  listen  to  his  views. 

"You  fools !"  he  swore  at  them,  cracking  his  knuckles 
and  twisting  at  his  beard  alternately.  "Do  you  not  real- 
ize that  Mahmoud  is  ambitious !  Do  you  not  understand 
that  he  must  yield  all,  if  you  insist!  Otherwise  we  hang 
him  here  to  a  tree  in  sight  of  the  burning  castle  and  his 
own  men!  No  ambitious  rascal  is  ever  willing  to  be 
hanged  !    Insist !     Insist !" 

"Ah,  Kagig!"  one  of  them  answered.  "Speak  for 
yourself.  You  would  not  like  to  be  hanged  perhaps! 
But  we  must  concede  him  something,  or  how  shall  he  sat- 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  347 

isfy  ambition?  He  must  be  able  to  go  back  with  some- 
thing to  his  credit  in  order  to  satisfy  the  pohticians." 

"Oh,  my  people!  Oh,  my  people!"  grumbled  Kagig. 
"Can  you  never  see  ?" 

But  they  went  back  to  Mahmoud  with  a  fresh  pro- 
posal, milder  than  the  first;  and  eventually,  after  yield- 
ing point  by  point,  until  Kagig  begged  them  kindly  to 
blow  his  brains  out  and  bury  him  with  Monty,  they 
reached  a  basis  on  which  Mahmoud  was  willing  to  capitu- 
late— or  to  oblige  them,  as  he  expressed  it. 

He  won  his  main  point :  Zeitoon  was  to  accept  a  Turk- 
ish governor.  They  won  theirs,  that  the  governor  was 
to  bring  no  troops  with  him,  but  to  be  contented  with  a 
body-guard  of  Zeitoonli.  For  the  rest:  IMahmoud  was 
to  go  free,  taking  his  wounded  with  him,  but  surrender- 
ing all  the  uninjured  Turkish  soldiers  in  the  trap  as 
hostages  for  the  release  of  all  Armenian  prisoners  taken 
anywhere  between  Tarsus  and  Zeitoon.  It  was  agreed 
there  were  to  be  no-  subsequent  reprisals  by  either  side, 
and  that  hostages  were  not  to  be  released  until  after 
Mahmoud's  army  corps  should  have  returned  to  whence 
it  came. 

Kagig  wrote  the  terms  in  Turkish  by  the  light  of  the 
holocaust  in  Monty's  ancestral  keep,  and  Mahmoud 
signed  the  paper  in  the  presence  of  ten  witnesses.  Rut 
whether  he,  or  his  brother  Turks,  have  kept,  for  in- 
stance, the  last  clause  of  the  agreement,  history  can  an- 
swer. 


ARMENIA 

First  of  the  Christian  nations;  the  first  of  us  all  to- feel 
The  fire  of  infidel  hatred,  the  zueight  of  the  pagan  heel; 
FaitJif idlest  doivn  the  ages  tending  the  light  that  burned, 
Tortured  and  trodden  therefore,  spat  on  and  slain  and 

spurned; 
Branded  for  others'  vices,  robbed  of  your  rightfid  fame. 
Clinging  to  Truth  in  a  truthless  land  in  the  name  of  the 

ancient  Name; 
Generous,  courteous,  gentle,  patient  under  the  yoke. 
Decent  (hemmed  in  a  harem  land  ye  were  ever  a  one-wife 

folk); 
Royal  and  brave  and  ancient — haply  an  hour  has  struck 
When  the  nezu  fad-fangled  peoples  shall  lueary  of  raking 

muck, 
And  turning  from  cozuard  counsels  and  loathing  the  par- 
ish lies. 
In  shame  and  sackcloth  offer  up  the  only  sacrifice. 
Then  thou  zvho  hast  been  neglected,  zvho  hast  called  o'er 

a  world  in  vain 
To  the  deaf  deceitful  traders'  ears  in  tune  to  the  voice 

of  gain. 
Thou  Cinderella  nation,  starved  that  our  appetites  might 

live, 
When  zve  come  zvith  a  hand  outstretched  at  last — accept 

it,  and  forgive! 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-TWO 
"God  cp  with  you  to  the  States,  effendim!" 

THE  fighting  lasted  nearly  until  dawn,  because  of 
the  difficulty  of  conveying  Mahmoud's  orders  to 
the  Turks,  and  Kagig's  orders  to  our  own  tree-hidden 
firing-line.  But  a  little  before  sunrise  the  last  shot  was 
fired,  at  about  the  time  when  most  of  the  castle  walls 
fell  in  and  a  huge  shower  of  golden  sparks  shot  upward 
to  the  paling  sky.  The  cease  fire  left  all  Zeitoon's  de- 
fenders with  scarcely  a  thousand  rounds  of  rifle  ammu- 
nition between  them;  but  Mahmoud  did  not  know  that. 

An  hour  after  dawn  Fred  joined  us.  He  had  the  news 
of  Alonty's  death  already,  and  said  nothing,  but  pointed 
to  something  that  his  own  men  bore  along  on  a  litter  of 
branches.  A  minute  or  two  later  they  laid  Rustum 
Khan's  corpse  beside  Monty's,  and  we  threw  one  blanket 
over  both  of  them. 

I  don't  remember  that  Fred  spoke  one  word.  He  and 
Monty  had  been  closer  friends  than  any  brothers  I  ever 
knew.  No  doubt  the  awful  strain  of  the  fighting  at  the 
corner  of  the  woods  had  left  Fred  numb  to  some  extent ; 
but  he  and  Monty  had  never  been  demonstrative  in  their 
affection,  and,  as  they  had  lived  in  almost  silent  under- 
standing of  each  other,  hidden  very  often  for  the  benefit 
of  strangers  by  keen  mutual  criticism,  so  they  ])arted, 
Fred  not  caring  to  make  public  what  he  thought,  or 
knew,  or  felt. 

Kagig,  not  being  in  favor  with  the  ciders,  vanished, 
Maga  following  with  food  for  him  in  a  leather  bag,  and 

349 


350  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

we  saw  neither  of  them  again  until  noon  that  day,  by 
which  time  we  ourselves  had  slept  a  little  and  eaten  rav- 
enously. Then  he  came  to  us  where  we  still  sat  by  the 
great  rock  with  Mahmoud  under  guard  (for  nobody 
would  trust  him  to  fulfil  his  agreement  until  all  his 
troops  had  retired  from  the  district,  leaving  behind  them 
such  ammunition  and  supplies  as  they  had  carried  to  the 
gorge  below  the  ramp). 

We  had  laid  both  bodies  under  the  one  blanket  in  the 
shade,  and  Kagig  pointed  to  them. 

"I  have  found  the  place — the  proper  place,  effendim!" 
he  said  simply.     "Maga  has  made  it  fit." 

Not  knowing  what  he  meant  by  that  last  remark,  we 
invited  some  big  Armenians  to  come  with  us  to  carry  our 
honored  dead,  and  followed  Kagig  one  by  one  up  a  goat 
track  (or  a  bear  track,  perhaps  it  was)  that  wound  past 
the  crumbled  and  blackened  castle  wall  and  followed 
the  line  of  the  mountain.  Here  and  there  we  could  see 
that  Kagig  had  cleared  it  a  little  on  his  way  back,  and 
several  times  it  was  obvious  that  there  had  been  a  pre- 
pared, fi-equented  track  in  ancient  days. 

"It  took  time  to  find,"  said  Kagig,  glancing  back,  "but 
I  thought  there  must  be  such  a  place  near  such  a  castle." 

Presently  we  emerged  on  a  level  ledge  of  rock,  from 
a  square  hole  in  the  midst  of  which  a  great  slab  had  been 
levered  away  with  the  aid  of  a  pole  that  lay  beside  it. 
All  around  the  opening  Maga  had  spread  masses  of  wild 
flowers,  and  either  she  or  Kagig  had  spread  out  on  the 
rock  the  great  banner  with  its  ships  and  wheat-sheaves 
that  the  women  had  made  by  night  in  Aionty's  honor. 

We  could  read  the  motto  plainly  now — Per  terrain  et 
aquam — By  land  and  sea ;  and  Kagig  pointed  to  some 
marks  on  the  stone  slab.     ]\Ioss  had  grown  in  them  and 


By  Land  and  Sea 


THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  351 

lichens,  but  he  or  else  Maga  had  scraped  them  clean ;  and 
there  on  the  stone  lay  the  same  legend  graven  bold  and 
deep,  as  clear  now  as  when  the  last  crusader  of  the  fam- 
ily was  buried  there,  lord  knew  how  many  centuries  be- 
fore. 

The  tomb  was  an  enormous  place — part  cave,  and 
partly  hewn — twenty  feet  by  twenty  by  as  many  feet 
deep  at  the  most  conservative  guess ;  and  on  four  ledges, 
one  on  each  side,  not  in  their  armor  but  in  the  rags  of 
their  robes  of  honor,  lay  the  bones  of  four  earlier  Mont- 
didiers — all  big  men,  broad-shouldered  and  long  of  shin 
and  thigh. 

We  did  not  need  to  go  down  into  the  tomb  and  break 
the  peace  of  centuries.  Under  the  very  center  of  the 
opening  was  a  raised  table  of  hewn  rock,  part  of  the 
cavern  floor,  about  eight  feet  by  eight  that  seemed  to  hare 
been  left  there  ready  for  the  next  man,  or  next  two  men 
when  their  time  should  come. 

Down  on  to  that  we  lowered  IMonty's  body  carefully 
with  leather  ropes,  and  then  Rustum  Khan's  beside  hini, 
Rustum  Khan  receiving  Christian  burial,  as  neither  he 
nor  his  proud  ancestors  would  have  preferred.  But  his 
line  was  as  old  as  Monty's,  and  he  died  in  the  same 
cause  and  the  selfsame  battle,  so  we  chose  to  do  his 
body  honor;  and  if  the  prayers  that  Fred  remembered, 
and  the  other  chcerfuller  prayers  that  Gloria  knew,  were 
an  offense  to  the  Rajput's  lingering  ghost,  we  hoped  he 
might  forgive  us  because  of  friendship,  and  esteem,  and 
the  homage  we  did  to  his  valor  in  burying  his  body  there. 

We  covered  Monty's  body  with  the  banner  the  women 
had  made,  and  Rustum  Khan's  with  flowers,  for  lack  of 
a  better  shroud ;  then  levered  and  shoved  the  great  slab 
back  until  it  rested  snugly  in  the  grooves  the  old  masons 


352  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

had  once  cut  so  accurately  as  to  preserve  the  bones  be- 
neath. 

Then,  when  Gloria  had  said  the  last  prayer : 

"What  next,  Kagig?"  Will  demanded. 

Kagig  was  going  to  answer,  but  thought  better  of  it 
and  strode  away  in  the  lead,  we  following.  He  did  not 
stop  until  we  reached  the  open  and  the  smoicing  ruins  of 
the  castle  walls.    When  he  stopped: 

"Has  any  one  seen  Peter  INIeasel  ?"  I  asked. 

"Forget  him !"  growled  Will. 

"Why  ?"  demanded  Maga.  "Will  you  bury  him  in  that 
same  hole  with  them  two  ?" 

"Has  any  one  seen  him  ?"  I  asked  again,  uncertain  why 
I  asked,  but  curious  and  insistent. 

"Sure !"  said  Maga.  "Yes.  Ale  I  seen  'im.  I  keel  'im — 
so — with  a  knife — las'  night !  You  not  believe?" 

Whether  we  believed  or  not,  the  news  surprised  us,  and 
we  waited  in  silence  for  an  explanation. 

"You  not  believe?  Why  not?  That  dog!  'E  make 
of  me  a  dam-fool !  'E  tell  me  about  God.  'E  say  God  is 
angry  wnth  Zeitoon,  an'  Kagig  is  as  good  as  a  dead  man, 
an'  I  shall  take  advantage.  'E  'ope  'e  marry  me.  I  'ope 
if  Kagig  die  I  marry  Will  Yerkees,  but  I  agree  with 
Measel,  making  pretend,  an'  'e  run  away  to  talk  'is  fool 
secrets  with  the  Turks.  Then  I  make  my  own  arrange- 
ments! But  Mahmoud  is  not  succeeding,  and  I  like 
Kagig  better  after  all.  An'  then  last  night  in  the  dark- 
ness Peter  iMeasel  he  is  coming  on  a  'orse  with  Mah- 
moud because  Mahmoud  is  not  trusting  him  out  of  sight. 
An'  I  see  him,  an'  'e  see  me,  an'  'e  call  me,  an'  I  go  to 
'im  through  all  the  fighting,  an'  'e  get  off  the  'orse  an' 
reach  out  'is  arms  to  me,  an'  I  keel  'im  with  my  knife— s^ 
SO !    An'  now  you  know  all  about  it !" 


JHE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON  353 

"What  next?"  Will  demanded  dryly. 

"Next?"  said  Kagig,  "You  effendim  make  your  es- 
cape !  The  Turks  will  surely  seek  to  be  revenged  on  you. 
I  will  show  you  a  way  across  the  mountains  into  Persia." 

"And  you?"  I  asked. 

"Into  hiding!"  he  answered  grimly.  "Alaga — ^little 
Maga,  she  shall  come  with  me,  and  teach  me  more  about 
the  earth  and  sky  and  wind  and  water!  Perhaps  at  last 
some  day  she  shall  make  me — no,  never  a  king,  but  a 
sportman." 

"Come  with  us,"  said  Will.   "Come  to  the  States." 

"No,  no,  effendi.  I  know  my  people.  They  are  good 
folk.  They  mistrust  me  now,  and  if  I  were  to  stay  among 
them  where  they  could  see  me  and  accuse  me,  and  where 
the  Turks  could  make  a  peg  of  me  on  which  to  hang 
mistrust,  I  should  be  a  source  of  weakness  to  them. 
Nevertheless,  I  am  ever  the  Eye  of  Zcitoon!  I  shall  go 
into  hiding,  and  watch !  There  will  come  an  hour  again — 
infallibly — when  the  Turks  will  seek  to  blot  out  the  last 
vestige  of  Armenia.  If  I  hide  faithfully,  and  watch 
well,  by  that  time  I  shall  be  a  legend  among  my  people, 
and  when  I  appear  again  in  their  desperation  they  will 
trust  me." 

Will  met  Gloria's  eyes  in  silence  for  a  moment. 

"I've  a  mind  to  stay  with  you,  Kagig,  and  lend  a  hand," 
he  said  at  last. 

"Nay,  nay,  cjjcndi!" 

"We  can  attach  ourselves  to  some  mission  station,  and 
be  lots  of  use,"  Gloria  agreed. 

"Use?"  said  Kagig,  cracking  his  fingers.  "The  mis- 
sions have  done  goofl  work,  but  you  can  be  of  much  more 
use — you  two.  You  have  each  otlicr.  Go  back  to  the 
blessed  land  you  come  from,  and  be  happy  together.  But 


354  THE  EYE  OF  ZEITOON 

pay  the  price  of  happiness !  You  have  seen.  Go  back 
and  tell !" 

"Tell  about  Armenian  atrocities?"  said  Will.  "Why, 
man  alive,  the  papers  are  full  of  them  at  regular  inter- 
vals 1" 

Kagig  made  a  gesture  of  impatience. 

"Aye !  All  about  what  the  Turks  have  done  to  us,  and 
how  much  about  us  ourselves?  America  believes  that 
when  a  Turk  merely  frowns  the  Armenian  lies  down  and 
holds  his  belly  ready  for  the  knife!  Who  would  care  to 
help  such  miserable-minded  men  and  women?  But  you 
have  seen  otherwise.  You  know  the  truth.  You  have 
seen  that  Armenia  is  imdermined  by  mutual  suspicion 
cunningly  implanted  by  the  Turk.  You  have  also  seen 
how  we  rally  around  one  man  or  a  handful  whom  we 
know  we  dare  trust !" 

"True  enough !"  said  Will.  "I've  wondered  at  it." 

"Then  go  and  tell  America,"  Kagig  almost  snarled  with 
blazing  eyes,  "to  come  and  help  us !  To  give  us  a  handful 
of  armed  men  to  rally  round !  Tell  them  we  are  men  and 
women,  not  calves  for  the  shambles !  Tell  them  to  reach 
us  out  but  one  finger  of  one  hand  for  half  a  dozen  years, 
and  watch  us  grow  into  a  nation !  Preach  it  from  the 
house-tops !  Teach  it !  Tell  it  to  the  sportmen  of  America 
that  all  we  need  is  a  handful  to  rally  round,  and  we  will 
all  be  sportmen  too  !  Go  and  tell  them — tell  them !" 

"You  bet  we  will !"  said  Gloria. 

"Then  go!"  said  Kagig.  "Go  by  way  of  Persia,  lest 
the  Turks  find  ways  of  stopping  up  your  mouths.  Monty 
has  died  to  help  us.  I  live  that  I  may  help.  You  go  and 
tell  the  sportmen  all.  Tell  them  we  show  good  sport  in 
Zeitoon — in  Armenia !    God  go  with  you  all,  effcndim!" 

THE  END 


DATE  DUE 

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D  •(  "  iqgn 

CAYLORD 

PRINTCOINU.S.A. 

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